“Take a jacket; save a life. Leave a jacket; save another.”

Those 11 words have been used for two years as the slogan for the Utah Lake Life Jacket Loaner Program. The program is in full swing, and the goal is to save lives — especially at this time of year when so many people use the lake for water recreation.

“Every life lost impacts a family,” reads a blog post from the Utah Lake Commission. “In May 2020, Priscilla Bienkowski and Sophia Hernandez, two teenage friends from Saratoga Springs, were reported missing after swimming near The Knolls area on the west side of Utah Lake. Eight days later, their bodies were found miles from where they entered the lake.”

After that tragedy, family members and friends of the two girls approached the Utah County Commission in July 2020, suggesting a life jacket loaner station be available for recreators to borrow and leave life jackets, free of charge, near the entrance of The Knolls. The Utah Lake Commission has since expanded the project to make a lake-wide life jacket loaner program.

The program operates on a first-come, first-serve basis. According to the commission’s website, research shows that most drownings could have been prevented had the victim worn a life jacket.

“The goals for this program are to increase the wearing of life jackets during water-based activities as well as to educate the visiting public on the importance of proper use and fit of life jackets and water safety,” reads the website.

According to http://stateparks.utah.gov, 80% of people who drowned in boating accidents would have survived if they had been wearing life jackets, nationwide. “Utah law says there must be at least one properly sized U.S. Coast Guard-approved life jacket for each person aboard a vessel,” reads the state guide.

“There are currently six life jacket loaner stations operating. We had five built this year and there was one already built at the Saratoga Spring city marina that we are including in our program,” said Sam Braegger, Utah Lake Commission Programs Manager. “Utah Lake State Park also has its own life jacket loaner station, but they operate that independently of our program. All the other six stations are up and running and have life jackets ready and available for people to borrow.”

During the past few months, funds have been raised to pay for the loaner stations. There are still ways that people can help to expand the program. Monetary donations will help to purchase additional life jackets and build the stands for display and storage. Donations of gently-used life jackets can be dropped off at Utah Lake Commission offices. The life jackets must be in good condition, be U.S. Coast Guard-approved, the label on the inside must be legible and zippers and buckle straps must be in good condition.

At the loaner stations, life jackets can be picked up, used and then returned. “We have a variety of sizes available at those stations ranging from infant life jackets all the way up to adult. There is no cost to anyone who needs to borrow one, we just ask that they please return it,” Braegger said.

For more information, and to view a map of the loaner station locations, go to http://UtahLake.org.

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