Peachland beach lifeguards save 6 people from drowning

Town boasts Okanagan’s only beach with lifeguards

Six people were saved from drowning this summer at the Okanagan’s only lifeguarded beach, Peachland officials say.

In a report going to council today, community services manager Cheryl Wiebe says the lifeguards once again provided a valuable public service.

“(We) closed Swim Bay for the season with no major incidents and six water rescues of drowning non-swimmers,” Wiebe writes.

Peachland spends more than $60,000 to provide lifeguards at Swim Bay from midJune until just before the Labour Day long weekend.

In 2014, there were only 19 public beaches in the province that had lifeguards, according to the BC and Yukon branch of the Lifesaving Society.

Because the lifeguarded Swim Bay is so popular with out-of-towners, recreation directors proposed earlier this year that user fees be applied to beach-goers who do not live in Peachland.

“Once a hidden gem, Swim Bay has become oversubscribed with group visits from outside Peachland, putting stress on the lifeguard services,” read part of a staff report to council last February.

In particular, daycare operators from outside Peachland were bringing large groups of children to Swim Bay, town staff said.

The proposal was to charge $31 for outof-town groups of between 20 and 39 people, with progressively higher charges for larger groups.

However, town council defeated the proposal as unrealistic and difficult to enforce.

With rejection of the user fees, “the coordination of visiting youth groups was better managed this year through outreach and signage,” Wiebe writes in today’s report to council.