Liability, safety at Lake Erie's public beaches not clear

LORAIN — When it comes to liability at Lake Erie's public beaches, there are few clear answers. Two separate instances, resulting in three deaths in the lake year have prompted questions about safety and liability in the open water. On May 31, 14-year-old Isaiah Barnes and 20-year-old Jesus Del Valle Rodriguez drowned at Lorain's Lakeview Park Beach. Both bodies were recovered in an operation by the Lorain Police Dive Team, U.S. Coast Guard and the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. A third drowning happened on June 15 at Vermilion's Showse Park when 33-year-old Brandon Spurlock died after he went missing under the water. His body was recovered two days later in a joint effort between the Vermilion police and fire departments, the Coast Guard and ODNR. There are "no swimming" signs posted at Lakeview Park, but that's "somewhat of a legal matter," Lorain County Metro Parks Director James Ziemnik told the Lorain County Community Protection Team on June 21. Parks workers will not order people out of the water if they're caught swimming despite the posted signs, he said. On Thursday, Lakeview and Century Park staff demonstrated new rescue rings available at both beaches, coupled with the "no swimming signs." The 24-inch flotation devices are attached to 90 feet of rope in a throw bag, which can also be thrown to those struggling in the water to pull them back to the shoreline. New "no swimming" signs in both English and Spanish, with instructions on how to use the new rescue rings, are expected to be installed soon. There is an insufficient number of lifeguards on staff to patrol the beaches, Ziemnik said. The Metro Parks are barely keeping the pools at Splash Zone in Oberlin staffed, pulling managers to watch the water there. Ziemnik said he's trying to recruit more lifeguards, but with low unemployment and rising wages elsewhere he is finding few people willing to take the job. The qualifications needed for open water lifeguards, like those needed on Lake Erie, are also much more stringent than for a pool. Open water lifeguards need to be able to swim farther and dive deeper than those at a community pool, Ziemnik previously told The Chronicle-Telegram. He said in a typical summer, Metro Parks needs eight or nine lifeguards at Lakeview Beach alone. With only two, they staff whatever hours they can. Ziemnik said the Metro Parks won't put the chairs out with someone on them unless they're certified to be a lifeguard, lest it lead to a false sense of security for beachgoers. "Almost all of the lakefront is actually jurisdiction of the state of Ohio — Ohio Department of Natural Resources submerged land lease," he said at Thursday's rescue ring demonstration. "So somebody even brought up 'can't you put a fence up (to prevent swimming?)' I'm like, no, because I talked to someone in Sandusky at the ODNR office … technically you can't, without some permission you cannot put up any structures along (the shore)." And even if the Metro Parks got permission to block the lakefront, Ziemnik said he suspected beachgoers would still cross the boundary. And if Metro Parks didn't repair it, then it would be opening itself up to more liability. "There's no laws or regulations around hazards and liabilities pertaining to public access beaches under" Ohio law, he said. "It doesn't exist." For now, Metro Parks has staff walking up and down the shoreline looking for potential problems, but Ziemnik said they they are not lifeguards and can't fill that role. Lorain Mayor Jack Bradley said he knows how dangerous the water at Lakeview Park can be. There is a steep drop-off just past the break wall, and an unexperienced swimmer could easily find themselves in trouble, he told the Protection Team last month. Bradley said he is pushing for a program to train and recruit juniors and seniors at Lorain High School to train as lifeguards. He also wants to have all children take a basic water safety course before entering kindergarten "so at least they know how to float and not panic" if they find themselves in danger. Lorain city ordinances say swimming is confined to no more than 50 feet from the Lake Erie shoreline or an accompanying watercraft, and out of any channel regularly used by watercraft. "It's a Great Lake. It's a wonderful natural resource, but Mother Nature can be harsh and cruel sometimes," Ziemnik said, and swimmers have to respect that. ODNR spokesperson Stephanie O'Grady said support from her agency for water rescue operations usually comes at the request of other agencies. "ODNR's primary water-based mission on Lake Erie is to ensure safety among the recreational boating community. ODNR regularly offers its officers, tools, equipment, and skill sets to immediately address any emergency situations. While ODNR does react to any emergency it observes, ODNR's emergency support most often occurs when federal, state, or local government entities reach out for assistance," she said. ODNR's website suggests wearing a life jacket if you don't know how to swim or when there are large waves, and cautions the lake's bottom is not flat. Sudden drop-offs from raised sandbars can occur, and ODNR recommends staying just waist-deep in the water. Currents, which can exceed 5 mph, can be dangerous to swimmers and pull them away from shore. It also notes all state park beaches are "swim at your own risk." Calls to the Coast Guard for comment were not returned. The Coast Guard is often called to assist in searches like those at Showse Beach in Vermilion last month, along with dive teams from area police and fire departments. The Lorain County Dive/Rescue Team is made up of police and fire personnel from eight departments around the county, which also can be called to assist other agencies. So far in 2022 there have been 12 confirmed drownings in Lake Erie, according to statistics compiled by the Great Lakes Surf Rescue Project, a nonprofit organization aimed at preventing drownings in the Great Lakes and performs water safety educational presentations. Three drownings in 2022 do not have confirmed final outcomes. Three of the 12 incidents are in Lorain County including the May 31 drowning at Lakeview Park Beach and the June 15 drowning at Showse Park in Vermilion. The organization also documented four drowning incidents in Cleveland between March 23 and June 19, as well as the case of a 60-year-old Wisconsin man who died after he went under in a capsized boat on May 24 off the coast of Port Clinton in Ottawa County to the west. Four additional incidents on Lake Erie have been documented so far in 2022, with two drownings on the Canadian side in the province of Ontario, one in Pennsylvania, and one in New York. In all of 2021 there were 22 drownings in Lake Erie, including three unknown final outcomes, 21 in 2020 (with one unknown outcome and one missing), and 28 in 2019. In 2021, Lorain saw two drowning deaths after the bodies of Alaina Camacho and Nathan Orono, and their car, were recovered off the shore of Hot Waters boat launch on March 28. They had been missing for almost two months. In Berlin Township, near Huron, two people died near the Cranberry Creek Marina following a powerboat collision on Nov. 16 that resulted in both men being ejected. Wade Lafferty, 55, of Vermilion, and James Muncy, 54 of Wakeman, were both found dead. Muncy's body was recovered on May 19, 2022. Contact Kevin Martin at (440) 329-7121 or kmartin@chroniclet.com or on Twitter @KevinMartinCT. Contact Carissa Woytach at (440) 329-7245 or cwoytach@chroniclet.com.