Cameras to keep watch on waters

Newport Beach lifeguards are hiring some extra eyes to watch their

water.

The eyes belong to a handful of digital security cameras scheduled

to be installed at several spots along the beach this year.

With seven miles of beach to watch, the cameras will provide

Newport lifeguards with a better vantage point, especially during the

off-season when guards are not in towers, said Lifeguard Capt. Eric

Bauer.

A test camera has already been successfully installed at the

Balboa Pier and another is expected to go in at the Wedge within

several weeks, Bauer said.

The camera broadcasts a live picture onto the Internet via a

wireless connection; the lifeguards can zoom in anywhere they want to

get a closer look. The Internet connection has been provided to the

lifeguards by Seven Seas Internet, a Laguna Beach-based wireless

Internet provider.

“It’s a definite enhancement to their safety capability,” said

Charlie Smith, Seven Seas’ director of marketing.

Smith said he’s been working on the project for six years. It

makes sense that the technology of wireless cameras be used to

increase public safety, Smith said.

On a wireless laptop inside lifeguard headquarters at the Newport

Pier, Bauer can pull up a real-time video of the Balboa Pier with the

click of the mouse.

The cameras will allow lifeguards to monitor conditions when the

guards are not on duty in towers. Newport Lifeguards only put staff

in towers for a portion of the year, during the busy summer months,

Bauer said.

At the Wedge, where the next camera is set to be installed, the

camera will enable lifeguards to enforce the black ball rule, which

prohibits surfing until the end of October, Bauer said.

But the cameras aren’t intended to replace lifeguards.

“Cameras can’t make rescues -- cameras can’t treat people,” Bauer

said. “It’s another tool in our arsenal to help us be more effective

in treating people.”

An Anaheim man drowned in front of an unmanned lifeguard tower

over Labor Day weekend. A rip current pulled him into deep water.

Lifeguard supervisors had taken the guard at Tower 28 off duty

moments earlier due to calm surf and small crowds at the beach that

day.

“The likelihood of preventing something like that before it

happens goes up,” Bauer said.

Bauer stressed the importance of swimming near an open lifeguard

tower and checking with the lifeguard before going into the water.

Before the digital camera, lifeguards also tested an analog

television camera at the Balboa Pier, but found the digital camera to

be a better option.

“It’s more user-friendly,” Bauer said.

Also, the digital cameras will be significantly less expensive

than the analog cameras, he said.

The analog cameras would cost roughly $16,000 per site, versus the

$4,000 to $5,000 per site the digital cameras will cost, Bauer said.

If all goes as planned, the cameras will be positioned at the

Wedge, 15th Street, 44th Street, 54th Street, the Santa Ana River

Channel and at lifeguard headquarters, Bauer said.

Lifeguards have fielded some public concern about privacy issues

involving the cameras.

Footage from the cameras will only be used for security purposes,

Bauer said. The lifeguards have a firm privacy policy and camera use

will be supervised.

“We want people to realize that it’s something that’s going to

help them in their public safety when they’re in need,” Bauer said.

Additionally, the cameras can also give the public a chance to

keep an eye on the lifeguards.

“If they see we’re doing something inappropriate on our cameras,

the public will be our watchdog,” Bauer said.

Smith from Seven Seas Internet says he hopes the lifeguard cameras

will generate more public interest in wireless cameras.

“The benefits far outweigh the privacy issues,” Smith said.

He envisions private yacht owners someday being able to broadcast

live pictures of the Newport Beach Christmas Boat Parade to friends

across the country.