American Shore & Beach Preservation Association: February 27, 2013
The ASBPA presented the BEST GREAT LAKES BEACH award to Lake Bluff’s Sunrise Beach at its 2013 Conference in Washington DC on February 27, 2013. Congratulations Lake Bluff!
For more information on Sunrise Beach, visit the Lake Bluff Park District website.
Chicago Tribune: February 26, 2013
by Gregory Trotter
Barring significant rainfall, the Lloyd Park boat ramp in Winnetka could be closed this boating season due to the low water level and sand accumulation, park officials said recently.
The water near the ramp must be at least three feet deep for the Park District to allow boat launching. If the ramp is closed, boaters would be forced to take their vessels north to Waukegan or consider other closer, but more costly options, such as Lake Forest.
The problem: Lake Michigan’s overall water level is five feet lower than it was in 1997 and is currently at its lowest recorded level, according to coastline engineers working with the Winnetka Park District, citing data from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Add to that the sand accumulation at Lloyd Park and the ramp might not be usable this season.
For now, the Park District is working with the Northfield-based coastline engineering firm Shabica & Associates, Inc., to develop a sand management plan for Winnetka and other lakeshore communities. It’s unlikely that any solution for moving the sand will materialize before boating season, said Jon Shabica, vice president of Shabica & Associates, but the firm will be providing regular updates on the situation.
“We could see a couple of big storms and this whole meeting could be a moot point … But we’re not going to want to open the ramp unless it’s safe and usable,” Shabica told a room full of disappointed boaters at a recent Winnetka Park District meeting.
Northeasterly storms would help erode the shoreline naturally; the waves they produce could haul the sand away from the shore, Shabica explained. Beyond that, a short-term solution could be to dredge sand from Lloyd’s and move it 1,000 feet south, he said, but that will mean obtaining federal and state permits, negotiating with private land owners and other entities, and paying for a project that could ultimately have short-lived success.
That’s the kicker — storms can also deposit sand right back on the shores of Lloyd Park beach, Shabica said.
The Winnetka Park District annually spends about $25,000 to $30,000 a year on maintenance sand dredging, said John Muno, superintendent of recreation for the Park District. Park officials will not commit to the boat ramp being open for any sort of use at this point, he said, but will instead continue to assess the risk and possible solutions.
Winnetka’s boat ramp is a relatively small piece of a larger problem, Shabica said. Communities all along the North Shore are dealing with similar issues, he said, adding that his company was having the exact same conversation with Evanston soon. The water level in Waukegan’s harbor is low enough to hinder commercial shipping, he said, and Naval Station Great Lakes can’t get its own ships out of the harbor.
The water level is so low largely because of changing weather patterns, Shabica said. Milder winters with less precipitation mean less ice on the lake, he said. Without the ice, there is more evaporation.
After the recent park meeting, Louis Gordon, a member of the Winnetka Yacht Club, stood with Josh Mark, the club’s commodore.
“This isn’t a problem that money can fix,” Gordon said. “This is a problem that only nature can fix.”
Mark had recently experienced the dangers of shallow water first-hand. Last summer, Mark was sailing back in to the Lloyd Park ramp when waves breaking far offshore — as a result of the shallow water depth — caused his boat to capsize. The boat was damaged, Mark said, but no one was hurt.
Lloyd Park’s ramp issue won’t affect the many kayakers and paddle boarders who also frequent the beach, Shabica said. In fact, the warm, shallow water could make for a nice season for those users.
But it will affect those like Robert Josellis, a Wilmette resident who is passionate about speed boating. Though Wilmette has a harbor, it has no ramp for boat launching, he said, and there’s a years-long wait list for the harbor. So, Josellis launches from Lloyd’s almost daily in the summer, sometimes taking his four teenage children out on rides before homework.
Beyond just the proximity to home, Josellis said he loves the family friendly atmosphere at Lloyd Park Beach.
“We’ll have to look for another alternative,” he said. “It’s what, 45 minutes or an hour from here to Waukegan? That’s a long ride.”
The Winnetka Current: February 25, 2013
Village-hired firm advises to let nature run its course
by Nick Ulbert
The Lloyd boat launch, at Sheridan Road and Lloyd Place, is arguably the area’s most popular gateway into Lake Michigan. But it may soon be accommodating nothing larger than a Jet Ski because of the lake’s decreasing water levels.
Jon Shabica, vice president of Shabica & Associates, shared his firm’s findings regarding the threatened structure to a near-capacity crowd at the Lakefront Town Hall Meeting, held Thursday, Feb. 21.
Healthy water levels, especially for a lake with a surface area of 22,400 square miles, are dependent on many influences. The lack of precipitation has been a major factor, as 2012 was the second driest year on record dating back to 1900. The lack of winter ice has also caused an increase in water evaporation and, though far less responsible compared to natural causes, the city of Chicago takes in more than 3.5 million gallons of water each day. The water is never put back into the lake, but rather flows into the Chicago River, and eventually down the Mississippi.
But in the case of Lloyd, it’s not just the lack of water that may derail boaters’ plans in 2013; it’s the influx of sand. Naturally, Lake Michigan’s currents have always carried sand from the north and deposited it farther south. Heavy storms also tend to carry large amounts of sand from deeper water to inland beaches.
So much sand has accumulated near the launch, that a person of average height can walk more than 100 feet offshore without the water rising over their waist. Boaters attempting to launch anything larger than a small watercraft are in danger of getting stuck or sustaining significant damage to their boat.
But Shabica insists all is not lost, if only it would rain.
“We could see a few major storms within the next few weeks and this meeting would have been for nothing,” Shabica said. “That’s the funny thing about Lake Michigan, a storm can come in and totally change the conditions.”
Other solutions, many short-term, were mentioned.
Extending the pier into deeper water would provide a temporary fix, but it would also take more than a year to receive the necessary permits, far too long to impact the upcoming season.
Dredging the beach, the popular but expensive process of relocating sand elsewhere, might provide less than a few months of relief until more sand finds its way back.
Shabica advised against both solutions in favor of letting nature takes its course, at least for now.
“The water level of Lake Michigan has generally came, and went, in 20-year cycles, 20 years of high-water and 20 years of low,” explained Shabica. “While 2012 was abnormally dry, the data suggests we still may be in caught in the low-water cycle.”
Wally Ross and Phil Reusche have been fishing Winnetka’s coast for decades. The men understand the likelihood of having to launch from a surrounding harbor in 2013. The most likely options are harbors in Waukegan and Lake Forest, the latter being somewhat private and rather expensive to nonresidents.
“I’ve been fishing out here since the ’70s, I would be bypassing all my knowledge of these waters by launching at Waukegan,” Reusche said. But he insisted he’d do what is necessary to hunt the lake’s treasured salmon.
From the shore, fishing boats may seem to some like nothing but isolated, drifting figures, but each man explained the sense of community out on the water. “We have all been communicating over our radios for years, if I need a tow, I know I’ll be able to get one,” explained Ross. “We lose that heading to different waters.”
Superintendent of Recreation John Muno says it’s far too early for any definite decisions on the status of Lloyd, but he praised the work being done by Shabica and soon hopes to have a ‘regional sand management plan’ for what can be done going forward.
For updates on the status of the Lloyd boat launch, visit the park district’s website at winpark.org.
The Winnetka Current: February 13, 2013
Park district’s Lloyd Beach, other lakefront properties face low water levels
Staff Report
A town hall meeting will be held at 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 21, in the Winnetka Park District community room. Visit www.winnetkacurrent.com to read more…
The North Shore Weekend: February 9, 2013
by Bill McLean
“Buying that home on Lake Michigan may be a dream — but it also involves special deliberations.” Check out page 8 to read this more…