Ohio tackling Lake Erie erosion on hyper-local levels

Lake Erie’s shoreline is falling into the water.

The lake’s Ohio coast is eroding and officials are trying to stop it from causing further environmental and economic damage.

Dubbed the Lake Erie Shore Erosion Management Plan, the project breaks up the coast into regions for research and then recommends solutions to homeowners. There is no one-size-fits-all cure for erosion.

Tackling erosion on such a hyper-local level is unique in the Great Lakes.

Receding shores

Waves are the primary problem. They break down the low bank shores until they flood or wash away. Waves wear away bases of higher bluffs, causing them to recede.

Approximately 1.6 million tons of material erodes from 95 percent of Ohio’s Lake Erie shoreline every year, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

“A good portion of the Ohio shore is made from unconsolidated materials,” said D. Mark Jones, a geologist with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.  “It’s a jumbled mix of clay, pebbles and sand.”

This “soft” mix is very susceptible to erosion, Jones said.

Seeping groundwater, stormwater runoff and the freezing and thawing of the shore and lake cause erosion as well, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.

The diverse geology along the coast makes addressing erosion difficult.  Near the Ohio-Pennsylvania border there are 70-foot cliffs; the western half of the state is low-lying wetlands.

Environmental, economic concerns

Receding shorelines encroach on homes, threatening homeowners and their property.

Erosion also reduces tax revenues and increases insurance costs.

And since the state is the largest landowner on Ohio’s Lake Erie shoreline, taxpayers, even those who don’t live near the coast, pick up the tab.

There are also environmental problems.

“You may have a septic field at the top of the bluff that leaks from erosion or abandoned gas wells that could become damaged,” Jones said. “There’s also the potential for damage to fish habitat.”

And fish habitat has been damaged, said Jeff Tyson, fisheries biologist supervisor with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.

When silt and clay erode, they suspend in the water and reduce the  sunlight reaching the lake bottom. The reduced light means fewer plants. Fewer plants mean less plankton, the small organisms that fish eat.

Fish also use plants as habitat, places to hide and lay eggs.

“Our near shore fish community has been greatly reduced because of erosion,” Tyson said.  “Historically, we had bass, bluegill and northern pike near the shore … we just don’t see that anymore.”

Waves, freeze thaw cycles and ice cover aren’t going away anytime soon — but there are ways to mitigate erosion.

Fighting back

The Lake Erie Shore Erosion Management Plan is Ohio’s answer to vanishing shores.

“The program is intended to provide technical assistance to those working and living along the shore,” said Mark Cencer, coordinator of the plan.

Officials divided Ohio’s 312 miles of shoreline into 11 sections.  The sections are broken into subsection and grouped by common features.

“A homeowner’s property may only be 60 feet wide, but the problems that homeowner faces may extend for many miles,” Jones said.  “The regional groupings help coordinate efforts.”

State biologists, geologists, engineers and other officials recommend erosion solutions to homeowners and builders. They start small, including ways to conserve sand and filling in depleted beaches.

The next step is looking into possible “toe protection,” Cencer said.  The toe is the bottom of bluffs.

“This could mean break waters, seawalls or revetments,” Cencer said.  “The idea is to reduce the amount of wave energy that reaches the shore.”

Breakwaters are fixed or floating structures, usually concrete, that absorb waves before the shore.  Seawalls are walls built between the water and coast at the shoreline.  Revetments are stones placed at an angle that gently decreases from the property to the water.

Other recommendations include eliminating ground water from banks with drainage systems and adding vegetation on slopes to absorb water.

The voluntary program is well-received, Cencer said. Homeowners are part of every step of the plan — from research to outreach.

Ohio agencies have completed recommendations for one region and they cover 12 sub-sections of Ashtabula County.

Drilling down to such a local level is tedious, but that is what sets the plan apart.

“Our regional approach is fairly unique in the Great Lakes, but erosion happens everywhere …  we hope it can be used as an example,” Cencer said.