Lifeguard service on Oahu beaches will be extended to sunrise-to-sunset from the current 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. hours under a measure adopted by the Honolulu City Council Wednesday.

Mayor Kirk Caldwell indicated this week he supports the plan and will likely sign the bill.

There was no discussion of how much the additional lifeguard coverage would cost or from what source extra funding will come.

Emergency Services Director Jim Howe said he is confident the City Council will provide the money for the expansion.

The final draft of Bill 39 gives Howe until Jan. 1, 2021, to come up with a plan for implementing the extended-hours service. Howe told reporters after the vote that he’s already been working on a proposal, and that he expects to present it to the Council in about nine months.

The bill also calls for the department to begin implementing the extended hours program by June 30, 2021, but does not require a timetable for completion.

Howe said as the number of visitors to Oahu’s shores have increased, so too have the ranks of lifeguards on duty. “We know that (visitors) go to the beaches. That’s just the primary reason that most people come to Hawaii,” he said, noting that the Ocean Safety Division has grown each year for at least the past decade.

Extending lifeguard service to dawn-to-dusk is “the last major step in the process” to ensure the safety of visitors and residents alike, Howe said.

Experts say about 20% of emergencies occur outside of the lifeguards’ standard workday. A pilot project expanding lifeguard service at Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve, made the beach safer while boosting employee morale, they said.

There are just under 180 beaches or other ocean access points on the island that city lifeguards cover. There are about 90 city beach parks, the rest are state beaches or right-of-way parcels scattered around the island for which the city is also responsible.

“In order to accomplish that, we’re going to need to expand our rescue-craft program,” Howe said. There are currently eight staffed rescue-craft units on the island as well an additional eight units that are mobile but without rescue craft, he said.

It will take time to expand coverage fully at all beaches and it’s difficult to determine how long that will take, Howe said, citing low employment statewide as one possible barrier. “How fast can we bring in the numbers of new employees we’re going to need, train them adequately, and make sure that we have all the systems in place to support them?”

Howe declined to say how many additional lifeguards will need to be added to the current staff of about 300 to cover the expanded hours, stressing that the issue is still under study.

Several current and former lifeguards testified in favor of the bill during earlier hearings on the measure. So too did Randy Perreira, executive director of the Hawaii Government Employees Association, the union that represents the lifeguards. Perreira said union members have sought extended hours for years.

“That the lifeguards themselves supported this bill shows that their passion for keeping people safe is part of who they are – not just what they do,” said City Councilwoman Kymberly Pine, who introduced the bill, in a news release.