Coastal Management

In this section you will see ways that people have tried to stop or slow down the erosion along the shores of Lake Michigan. The two major ways are dredging and man-made structures.

Dredging is one way to prevent and manage erosion along the Lake Michigan shoreline. Digging up the sediment and moving it to another location has helped to keep the water at the appropriate height in the Kenosha Harbor. They either place the sediment in deeper water or dispose of it south of the harbor.

In the North Point Marina which is part of the Illinois Beach State Park, we saw a feeder beach. This is a place where sediment is hauled in to prevent greater erosion along the shore. In this particular spot, 20,000 cubic yards are trucked in each year. Much of it is brought in from the dredging done at the Waukegan Generating Station. Some is also brought in from sand and gravel pits further inland.

Many man-made structures have been used to stop the erosion and deposition along Lake Michigan. There are several types of structures, such as breakwaters, jetties, and groins. These help to protect the shoreline in various ways. Below are examples of each.

Click to see photo enlarged.

These steel walls, called groins are located on the north side of the Kenosha marina. These groins direct the incoming waves downward, trapping the sediment and creating a beach. All of this sand would have gone further south if the jetties were not in place.

This shows the groin on the other side of the Kenosha marina. Notice that there is not much of a beach on this side. This is true because of the direction of the wind. Most of the time, the waves come from a northerly direction.

Click to enlarge.

This jetty is used to stop the sand and sediment from going further south. Notice it runs east and west, perpendicular to the shoreline.

This picture shows a break-water and a jetty. The breakwater stops the huge waves from doing damage at the shoreline. Enlarge the photo and scroll to the right to see them both. Note that the breakwater is parallel to the shoreline, and the jetty is perpendicular to it.

	This is the feeder beach where much of the dredged sediment is brought in from North Point Marina. You can see how erosion continues to eat away at the beach. Click on the picture to see it enlarged.