EGLE's Water Resources Division (WRD) is requesting that shoreline property owners remove sandbags that were placed along the shoreline during the Great Lakes High Water Levels. EGLE will be contacting property owners over the next several weeks. Contact the EGLE staff that covers your county should you have any questions.
Great Lakes shorelines are always changing. Erosion is an expected and natural process along the Great Lakes. Water levels, wave action, the local geology, and plants impact how shorelines erode. People love living on the shoreline yet sometimes their homes are too close to the edge of a bluff. When shoreline conditions change the bluff those homes may be in danger of falling into the lake.
The High-Risk Erosion Area Program identifies those shorelines receding at an average annual rate of one foot per year or greater over a minimum period of 15 years. Along these shorelines, new structures are required to meet setbacks for their protection from a changing shoreline. When structures are not in danger the shoreline does not need to be altered to protect the structure. The shoreline and people can adapt to the changeable conditions of the Great Lakes.