Severe erosion closes Oval Beach at Saugatuck, Michigan (Michigan DNR photo) What kinds of shore protection are recommended?
Good, up-to-date advice on adequate shore protection structures is hard to find because much of the information for property owners published in the 1970s and 1980s is outdated. Flexible and stable structures that have porous surfaces and slope downward to the lake seem to have a better record for adequacy than most other types of shore protection structures used on the lakes. These structures are called riprap or armor stone revetments. Unfortunately, few if any shore protection structures will last long where significant lakebed erosion occurs. Shore protection structures also are not recommended in siting new buildings because they are likely to be very expensive to build and maintain. The wisest policy is to allow erosion to continue and to site new buildings far enough back from the edges of bluffs and banks to avoid the need for shore protection structures during the lives of these buildings.
