Keeping lifeguards on duty at Ottawa beaches until Labour Day would cost $59,000, staff say

September 16, 2024 Canuck

Keeping lifeguards on duty at Ottawa’s public beaches an extra eight days until Labour Day would cost taxpayers $59,000 a year, while extending supervised swimming hours at beaches an extra hour a day through the summer would cost $70,000.

The estimate comes as Ottawa continues to enjoy a stretch of mild weather, with the temperature hitting 29 C on Sunday and the forecast calling for highs of 29 C on Monday and 28 C on Tuesday.

Lifeguards were on duty at Ottawa’s public beaches daily from 12 p.m. to 7 p.m. this summer, from June 15 to Aug. 25. The City of Ottawa’s Beach Supervised Swimming Program is funded to operate for 72 days, with lifeguards on duty until the fourth Sunday in August every summer.

Coun. Sean Devine submitted an inquiry to staff asking about additional resources and budget allocations to offer lifeguard supervision similar to other cities that staff beaches earlier in the summer. Devine’s inquiry about extending lifeguard supervision came after a child died while swimming at Britannia Beach on June 3.

The city currently has a beach operating budget of $694,087 a year, and approximately 50 staff are hired for the summer for beach lifeguard positions.

Recreation, Culture and Facility Services general manager Dan Chenier says the city would need to provide additional funding to implement a pilot program to expand services. Chenier offers three potential pilot projects to expand the level of service through the summer:

Option 1: Lifeguards on duty for the second weekend of June, extending the beach season by two additional days. The cost would be $16,000.

Option 2: Extend the beach season with lifeguards on duty for eight days at the end of the season to include Labour Day. The cost would be $59,000.

Option 3: Extend supervised swimming hours daily from 12 p.m. to 7 p.m. to 12 p.m. to 8 p.m. An extra hour of lifeguard supervision would cost $70,000.

Chenier says staffing lifeguards for an extra weekend in June would “be challenging to meet the minimum operational standards and deploy a sufficient complement of staff” at each of the four beaches.

“Staff availability, school commitments, open water training requirements, waterfront qualification requirements, and scheduling are still currently problematic throughout June, until most summer employees are finished school,” Chenier writes. “College/University students and other adults cannot and do not make up for the lack of high school student availability that is required to provide a safe, supervised swimming environment.”

Chenier says an earlier beach season would have an impact on the pre-season required staff training, noting training would be moved into May and would be “highly dependent on Spring climate and water temperatures.”

Chenier says while lifeguards end their summer at the end of August to take a break or vacation before returning to school or resuming classes at French schools, staff could tailor job offers and employment terms to include earlier start and later end dates as part of recruiting for the summer season.

The City of Gatineau begins staffing beaches with lifeguards in early June on Saturdays and Sundays, while the National Capital Commission staffed lifeguards at Gatineau Park beaches starting on June 14 this summer.

Lifeguards were originally scheduled to be on duty at Toronto’s beaches from the first Saturday in June to Labour Day, but staff extended supervision until Sept. 22.

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