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High waves on Porter County lakefront give recent erosion-mitigation efforts their ‘first big test’

Efforts to protect the eroding Lake Michigan shoreline in Porter County are expected to be put to the test by a forecast of high waves through Tuesday.

The National Weather Service has issued a lakeshore flood warning through noon Tuesday for Lake and Porter counties, with predicted waves of 14 to 18 feet and high lake levels.

The worst of the impact, according to the weather service, was expected to be through Monday evening, when “large waves combined with high lake levels will exacerbate beach and shoreline erosion” and included East Lake Front Drive in Beverly Shores.

The Portage Lakefront and Riverwalk, part of Indiana Dunes National Park, has been undergoing a beach nourishment program since late summer, with $450,000 in National Park Service funds diverted from other projects to pay for the dredging and placement of 100,000 cubic yards of sand there and at Central Avenue.

The town of Beverly Shores, meanwhile, funded a $5 million bond issue for a revetment along the lakefront of large rocks and an erosion blanket made of natural fibers to hold sand so plants can get established. The work was finished in late November.

Officials from both entities are watching the waves and are guardedly optimistic that the recent work will at least slow the continued erosion of the lakefront.

A little more beach nourishment is taking place at Central Avenue but the work at the lakefront and riverwalk is complete for this year, said Paul Labovitz, superintendent at the national park.

“This is the first big test,” he said, adding the beach nourishment effort has sustained waves of 6 to 10 feet so far, with the Portage location holding up fairly well with the loss of a little bit of sand.

Erosion has battered the Portage park, as it has other locations along the shore, for a few years, causing extensive damage, including a collapsed viewing platform and a handicapped accessible ramp to the beach that washed away.

The lake also began to erode a dune protecting the pavilion at the park site.

“We still won’t know until the spring if this has made that big of a difference,” Labovitz said, adding he will be checking the area. “This is why we did it. We’re trying. We’ll see if it helps. I expect it will.”

Any sand lost at Portage will move west to West Beach, Labovitz said, adding he’s already seen some benefit there.

In Beverly Shores, erosion threatens Lake Front Drive and the gas and water lines that run under it. Town Council President Geof Benson remains positive that the town’s investment into shoring up its shoreline will keep the road from washing into the lake.

“I’m hoping not but boy, this is a good test,” he said.

When the lake is calm, the new layer of rocks is 15 feet above the water.

“The waves are coming and splashing over the big rocks so it’s working right now,” he said.

Town officials closed portions of Lake Front Drive in early March because of concerns about the erosion. The closure included a portion of the road by the Lake View parking area in the Indiana Dunes National Park. The park service closed the parking lot and beach access late last year because of erosion.

On Dec. 17, the Porter County Board of Commissioners issued an emergency declaration for the northern shoreline of the county along Lake Michigan, sparked by the erosion threatening Lake Front Drive.

Benson is glad the revetment work is done.

“Fingers crossed we survive this,” he said.

Amy Lavalley is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.