Enjoying summers at Lake Michigan just got safer.
Data tells us there are roughly 2,500 Great Lake swimming rescues annually, with 70% occurring in “red flag” conditions. This spring, Kent Foundation Solutions, in partnership with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR), installed 12 SwimSmart towers at Grand Haven State Park in Grand Haven, Michigan. The towers offer real-time audio and visual warnings about swimming conditions.
Lakefront installations are challenging because of sandy soils and sensitive environmental conditions, Kent Foundation Solutions frequently addresses both. “From our experience, we knew ground screws were the right choice for this project. They can be installed to depths that reach competent, load-bearing strata, and they create little to no environmental disruption. This approach was key to supporting the SwimSmart towers against the lateral force lakeshore winds, ” shares Division Manager Mike Gnewkowski. “You’ll be hard-pressed to find an industry that values safety as much as we do in construction. We know these towers will stand in place, and save lives, for a very long time.”
Eight orange towers show electronic signals like green for safe, yellow for caution, and red for no swimming. Four blue towers along the sidewalk have emergency phones directly connected to 911. Each orange tower also has a life ring that contacts park rangers and 911 if used.
Visit foundationsolutions.kentcompanies.com to learn more about Kent Foundation Solutions’ capabilities.