SOUTH HAVEN, Mich. (Michigan News Source) — Despite collecting millions in tourism dollars, Michigan beaches remain largely unguarded, even as Lake Michigan holds the grim title of deadliest of the Great Lakes.

Drowning deaths in the Great Lakes.

Since 2010, at least 1,376 people have drowned in the Great Lakes—nearly half of them in Lake Michigan, according to the Great Lakes Surf Rescue Project (GLSRP). Yet only two of Michigan’s public Lake Michigan beaches—St. Joseph and New Buffalo—employ lifeguards, as reported by the Detroit Free Press.

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Most Michigan towns dropped their lifeguard programs decades ago, citing cost, staffing, and liability. In their place: beach flags, signs, and safety apps. But critics say that system is falling short.

“This is a failed experiment,” Chris Brewster, chairman of the U.S. Lifesaving Association’s National Certification Committee, said. “When you have a tourist economy that is built around a beach environment, there comes with it an obligation to safeguard the people who are using that water.”

West Michigan cities react.

In South Haven, the debate is no longer theoretical. The city is facing two wrongful death lawsuits from families of teenagers who drowned off its beaches. In both cases, judges declined to dismiss the suits, citing the city’s handling of beach revenue and safety signals as key factors. South Haven brought in the United States Lifesaving Association (USLA) in April and is now studying a proposal to hire 19 lifeguards by 2026, estimated to cost $619,000 in the first year.

Muskegon, meanwhile, brings in about $1 million annually from beach parking. It ended its $26,000-a-year lifeguard program in 2010 and now relies on real-time hazard lights that update based on National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) data.

“If you have a parking lot and you’re charging a parking fee, then you should have lifeguards,” Dave Benjamin, of the GLSRP, said.

The DNR and its no-lifeguard model.

At the state level, the Department of Natural Resources defends the no-lifeguard model, pointing to signage, safety tech, and education efforts. 

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“The vast majority of state park visitors swim safely,” DNR spokesperson Ed Golder said, adding that budget and staffing constraints make a statewide lifeguard program “unsustainable.”

Still, critics argue drowning deaths are not evenly distributed—and neither are swimmers. Nearly half of Lake Michigan’s recorded drownings occurred in five cities: Grand Haven, Holland, Ludington, Muskegon, and South Haven.

USLA estimates that in areas under its certified lifeguard protection, the chance of drowning is 1 in 18 million. For South Haven, the group concluded, “South Haven could reasonably expect to have an average of one drowning death in a lifeguard-protected area every 50 or more years.”

Utilizing the state’s resources.

Additionally, Brewster urged Michigan to focus its resources accordingly. 

“I’m not suggesting that every inch of the coastline of Michigan needs to be guarded,” Brewster said. “But you strategically pick the areas where the most people are at.”

Whether that shift happens remains to be seen. In South Haven, a City Council split vote rejected USLA’s plan. The issue remains under review.

“The beach flag is a tool, not a replacement for lifeguards,” Benjamin said. “This applies to all Michigan beaches: You should not be having a beach system without lifeguards.”