The Town of Saugeen Shores is hoping to make local beaches safer in a new collaborative project with two post-secondary institutions.
The Smart Beach applied research project is a partnership between Saugeen Shores, Georgian College and the University of Waterloo.
A research buoy has been set about a kilometre off the Lake Huron coastline in Saugeen Shores. It will monitor things like wave height, water temperature, wave direction and other important metrics.
The project aims to "better understand how offshore conditions impact safety at the beach and to provide real-time, location-specific information to help keep residents and visitors safe," according to a media release from the Town of Saugeen Shores.
The project builds on Smart Beach research conducted in 2022 off the Kincardine shoreline by the same research team.
This project was made possible thanks to the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) through a College and Community Social Innovation Fund (CCSIF) grant.
Community members and visitors can help shape the project by participating in a beach safety survey open this summer until August 31. University of Waterloo students will be on local beaches throughout the summer encouraging participation. The survey is also available online.
"This project is a strong example of how applied research can directly benefit our communities while providing hands-on learning opportunities for students and strengthening our collaboration with other educational institutions," said Laleh Khodaparast, Director, Research and Innovation at Georgian. "By contributing to real-time beach safety solutions, students are not only gaining valuable research experience but also helping to shape technology that will increase safety for residents and visitors alike."
"Surf zone hazards, such as large waves and strong currents, can represent a significant danger to swimmers in the Great Lakes. This is particularly true in communities that don’t have a dedicated lifeguard program or have a large number of visitors who are unfamiliar with local beach conditions. The goal of the Smart Beach program is to promote beach safety through a publicly available application to provide increased awareness and an effective real-time warning system for surf-related hazards," added Dr. Alex Smith, PhD, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Waterloo.
"The Smart Beach program is a powerful example of how innovation and community partnership can make a meaningful difference," said Luke Charbonneau, Mayor of Saugeen Shores. "By working alongside the University of Waterloo and Georgian College, we’re combining technology, research, and public input to take impactful, proactive steps toward enhancing beach safety on our beautiful shoreline."