Supervisors Push Water Safety in Schools : Preparedness: The board votes to educate children about flooding dangers and to deploy lifeguards near channels during major storms.

Reacting to the drowning of 15-year-old Adam Bischoff in the rain-swollen Los Angeles River two weeks ago, Los Angeles County supervisors voted Tuesday to develop a water safety program for county schools and to deploy lifeguards closer to flood-control channels during heavy storms.

At the request of Supervisor Deane Dana, the board asked the county Office of Education and the county Department of Public Works to return to the board in two months with a proposal for educating children about the dangers of floods.

“For many of these children, storms of the intensity that struck us last week are totally unfamiliar,” Dana said in his written motion. “They can and do turn familiar and usually harmless play areas into potentially fatal lures.”

Adam drowned Feb. 12, after the water rose rapidly in a flood-control channel near his home in Woodland Hills, sweeping his bike from under him and drawing him into the raging Los Angeles River. Firefighters, police and onlookers tried desperately to save him as he struggled to stay afloat during a 10-mile journey down the river.

Janice Crawford, spokeswoman for the county Office of Education, said most county schools have relatively thorough disaster preparedness programs, but that the emphasis is on earthquakes and not floods. The schools distribute water and boating-safety material, although “there’s nothing that really addresses urban water safety,” she said.

Although the supervisors’ proposal is subject to approval by the county Office of Education, Crawford said, “Anything that would help save one child’s life seems worthwhile.”

Los Angeles Unified School District schools were not included in Tuesday’s proposal, but a district official on Tuesday said the district might consider establishing a similar program.

The Los Angeles Unified School District has 300 schools near the Los Angeles River and many others near other bodies of water, such as reservoirs. Rector said water safety instruction now is devoted largely to swimming lessons and more general advice for children to avoid wandering from their regular routes when going to and from school.

Supervisors also asked the county Department of Beaches and Harbors to make county lifeguards available to law enforcement or rescue agencies that request their assistance during a storm. The lifeguards could be stationed closer to swollen rivers, perhaps even posted at bridges, they said.

“This would be an opportunity to save people’s lives that otherwise would be lost,” Supervisor Ed Edelman said.

Although county lifeguards helped rescue people whose cars were trapped in the Sepulveda Basin during the flood--two days before Adam’s death--they were not summoned to help rescue Adam. Police and firefighters said they determined that the lifeguards, stationed at the beach, were too far away to help.

Ted Reed, director of Beaches and Harbors, said his department is preparing a proposal to make six teams of lifeguards available during floods. He said he also wants some lifeguards to gain instructor certification so that they can train other rescuers in swift-water rescues.