Lake Michigan is at near record levels,15 inches above this time last year. While the effects of an eroding shoreline are often first felt by lakefront homeowners and local beach-lovers, the irreparable damage has the potential to affect the entire region in ways that may reshape the North Shore’s complex relationship with Lake Michigan. The city also told residents to stay off large lakefront revetment rocks, long a spot for teenage gatherings, because they were battered in recent storms and aren’t considered safe. Still, before a shovel hits the shoreline, Tietz said the projects must first be reviewed and approved by multiple agencies, including the Army Corps of Engineers, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources and the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, as well as the county and the municipality. “When the lake level drops, you’ll eventually get the beach back, but that recovery will be slower in areas where lake bed erosion and deepening occurred,” he said. “When the lake was high there was no beach, but when the lake was low, the beach would appear again,” said Charles Shabica, a coastal geologist and professor emeritus at Northeastern Illinois University in Chicago. With lake water levels 3 feet above average, beaches are disappearing. Lake levels may fluctuate dramatically in response to weather and climate. While beaches and dunes can be restored and reclaimed when the lake water recedes, bluffs see more lasting effects. Mark Maguire, an operator with Gillen Marine Construction LLC, walks along quartzite boulders along a shoreline erosion construction project on the lakefront in Highland Park on Aug. 23, 2019. “What’s frustrating, but interesting, about the Great Lakes is they’re so dynamic, complex and unpredictable,” Theuerkauf said. Nonetheless, whether the lake’s water levels will drop slowly or suddenly, and whether it will be followed by another cycle of prolonged lows, is yet to be determined, he said. “Things are drastically different on this side of Lake Michigan." Deeper water results in bigger waves, which even with the same type of storm, will further accelerate erosion, Theuerkauf said.
“When bluffs retreat, it’s permanent, so the next time the water levels go down, the system will not respond in the same way,” Theuerkauf said. The growth prompted the construction of concrete groins and seawalls built to protect the eroding bluffs, and wooden piers were erected and used for public sunbathing, swimming and boating. Already Evanston has closed the city’s popular dog beach for the third consecutive year, and expects to spend millions on storm and high water damage. Man-made interventions of the type suburban homeowners can undertake can complicate the natural shoreline restoration process after periods of high water levels, Theuerkauf, said. While the North Shore still is dealing with the fallout, there is no sign that lake levels will return to average levels anytime soon. Homeowners and municipalities along Lake Michigan's North Shore are under threat as lake levels reach record highs and erosion leaves lasting damage. According to Shabica, after suburban communities like Lake Forest, Winnetka and Evanston were established in the mid-19th century, the North Shore became a haven for summer visitors. And we’ve seen that there are some unintended consequences of someone’s shoreline protection.” Highland Park resident Robert Ritholz recalls casting a wary eye years ago on his next-door neighbor’s plans to construct a rock revetment along his piece of Lake Michigan shoreline — a project Ritholz deemed unnecessary at the time. 40 miles of lakeshore aerial inspections along Lake Michigan – … More than a century later, record-breaking Lake Michigan water levels and accelerating erosion coupled with increasingly volatile weather threatens to permanently alter the shoreline. Ever,” said Ritholz, whose history with the property goes back to the 1950s. Here in the Great Lakes, it’s not predictable.” He said another factor to be considered is the effect of rising water levels in the area. “We know the lake levels will go down eventually, but it’s different than ocean levels, which are rising at a pretty specific rate, and you can predict what will happen.
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