• A decade in review: Have we turned the corner on drowning? A decade in review: Have we turned the corner on drowning? By Patrick Durkin Recent studies of drowning data indicate that Kaua‘i may be getting a handle on
• A decade in review: Have we turned the corner on drowning?
A decade in review: Have we turned the corner on drowning?
By Patrick Durkin
Recent studies of drowning data indicate that Kaua‘i may be getting a handle on accidental deaths at the beach. The County of Kaua‘i has made a concerted effort over the past 10 years to protect and educate the beach-going public. The recent expansion of the County’s lifeguard program is the single most important development in the past 25 years in the battle to curtail drowning.
Breakthroughs at the State Capitol on liability issues have been significant. Beach safety publications that talk tough about beach hazards have been endorsed and funded by the Kaua‘i Visitor’s Bureau and the Mayor’s Office of Tourism. Coalitions of beach safety advocates have worked hard to keep the fire burning on critical issues affecting drowning prevention. The County of Kauai stepped into the real world of drowning prevention during the Kusaka administration. Prior to that, the County languished in a “no-can” environment with regards to public safety at the beach. Lifeguards worked out of dilapidated towers or their cars. The few warning signs rusted away. Someone in Mayor Tony Kunimura’s administration once said that lifeguards were only good for fishing and cooking. Image was bad. Leadership within the lifeguard program tanked with the departure of Isaac Ho‘okano, Jr. in 1987.
After taking office in late 1994, Mayor Kusaka shocked the water safety community by closing the state-funded lifeguard tower at Ke‘e Beach over liability concerns. The outrage reverberated around the state. No one ever expected that Mayor Kusaka would go on to raise the caliber of ocean safety on Kaua‘i to levels never before seen. Staffing more than doubled. Budgets tripled. Professionalism reached national standards with the merger of the lifeguard program and the Fire Department. The advancements that took place during Kusaka’s eight years outpaced all previous administrations put together as far back as Mayor Malapit. Fire Chief David Sproat was a driving force behind the Mayor. It wouldn’t have happened without him.
The momentum carried over into the legislature. Act 190, also known as the Beach Immunity Bill, became law in the 1996/97 session. A statewide standard of beach warning signs was adopted. Posting these signs at County beaches and accesses provided a level of litigation avoidance that the Counties needed. Recently, the legislature passed into law language that would protect counties from litigation at state beaches staffed by lifeguards. This should lead to lifeguard services at Ke‘e Beach, a critical staging area for rescues at Kaua‘i’s two most dangerous beaches: Hanakapia‘i and Lumaha‘i.
In the graph, Drowning Trends 1990-2003, statistics seems to point to a general downturn in aquatic deaths. Two short term trend lines, one from 1990 to 1998, and 2000 to 2003, suggest improvement. A bump in drownings in 1999 and 2000 broke what might have been a 13-year downtrend. In the face of pressure from a healthy visitor industry, and a building boom that’s adding new residents, this is good news. Some things have remained constant in the data: Most drownings during this period were visitors (70.5%). The North Shore and Na Pali Coast claimed over one in three of the total deaths by drowning.
In order to see a long term improvement in drowning prevention, the County will have to continue to apply more tax dollars to its lifeguard program. More beaches need to be staffed, and towers upgraded. We have to stay at it until we beat the drowning rate down each year. Much more can be done from the private sector to help out. The resorts need to take a hard look at their programs, from beach signage to guest education.
Guide book publishers have to practice some kind of full disclosure if they’re going to send unsuspecting visitors to “underground” and “hidden” Kaua‘i beaches. The state should step up and share in the cost of staffing Ke‘e Beach with lifeguards. Ke‘e is the key to significantly lower drowning rates.
Patrick Durkin is a former County of Kaua‘i lifeguard who publishes the Kauai Beach Hazard Survey, a 30-year baseline study of drowning on Kaua‘i. He is the project director for the Kauai Beach Safety Guide, a publication for visitors that is funded through the Mayor’s office. He can be reached at pdurkin@aquatic expert.com
