In 2019, Safe Kids Greater South Haven put in its first board at Van Buren State Park. The organization worked on the project with a local Eagle Scout, who lost his grandfather to a drowning.
Beach Awareness Week: Mother remembers son who drowned in Ottawa County, talks invisible dangers of Lake Michigan
Since 2002, Ottawa Co. has reported more than 130 current-related incidents, making it statistically the least safe location to swim along Lake Michigan s shorelines Author: Samantha Jacques Updated: 9:58 AM EDT May 24, 2021
OTTAWA COUNTY, Mich. Over two million people visit the shorelines of Ottawa County each year. Since 2002, Ottawa County has reported more than 130 current-related incidents, making it statistically the least safe location to swim along all of Lake Michigan s shorelines.
The National Weather Service created this map to help visitors understand where there are the most current-related incidents on the Great Lakes. Ottawa County comes in at number one because the prevailing wind direction on the Great lakes is west, southwest, and northwest. The combination of the prevailing wind and the number of people that vis