MILWAUKEE — Milwaukee's McKinley Beach is now back open after some major construction work to make the beach a safer place to swim.
County leaders said the water depth has dropped by four feet since McKinley Beach was built back in 1989. The beach shut down in 2020 after several people drowned.
In 2023, construction crews worked to “re-nourish" the beach by importing large amounts of sand then grading and grooming that sand to bring the water depth back to its original levels.
Public safety leaders said that will make it safer to swim and will help reduce currents in the area.
Altogether, the project cost Milwaukee County a little more than one $1 million.
Lloyd Seawright, Milwaukee Beach Ambassador and water safety expert, said despite the changes it’s important to stay vigilant when swimming in Lake Michigan and to look out for rip currents.
“It’s a situation produced by a wind pattern and wave breaking in shallow water,” said Seawright. “What it does is it scoops out the ground and turns into a channel. That channel pulls that water out. The swimmer, animal or device gets caught in that channeling and becomes caught out in that water.”
Seawright said to get out of a rip current is to swim or float parallel.
Another thing to look out for is water temperature.
“Anyone is gong to be affected by the cold water shock,” said Seawright. “After periods of exposure of cold water there is going to be lack of mobility in your extremities.”
Like Seawright, Deidre Peroff is also a Beach Ambassador. She’s a social science outreach specialist for the Wisconsin Sea Grant, too.
The Beach Ambassador program was created four summers ago by several organizations as a call to action to give beachgoers life saving information involving Milwaukee’s lakefront.
The organizations are Milwaukee RiverKeeper, University of Wisconsin Sea Grant, Milwaukee Water Commons, Milwaukee Community Sailing Center.
“Making sure people are aware to stay safe on the beach and meeting people where they’re at and acknowledging that people come from different backgrounds, swimming capabilities and knowledge about the beach and the conditions and hazards and things like that,” said Peroff. “How can we make it an inclusive space and people can keep their family safe.”
Both Bradford and McKinley beaches don’t have lifeguards on duty. The ambassadors push a cart around providing education and resources on water safety to the public.
“Your biggest tools are knowing where your life rings are,” said Seawright. “Always have a personal flotation device if you’re out on a boat. If you’re not a good swimmer only go up to your knees. Water moving fast can take anyone down.”