Consultant presents softer shoreline strategies for Silver Beach; detached breakwaters and beach nourishment proposed

Greg Weicamp, of Edgewater Resources, told the Berrien County Board of Commissioners on Jan. 23 that his firm’s study explored alternatives to traditional hardened shore armoring at Silver Beach and Lions Park and found that a combination of beach nourishment and segmented (detached) offshore structures could retain sand, improve habitat and reduce repeated emergency repairs.

Weicamp said the project team — which included Michigan Tech researchers, local engineering firms and nonprofit partners — collected bathymetry, sediment samples, underwater photography and wave‑climate data to evaluate where usable sand exists offshore and how it could be moved back onto beaches. “We were looking at exploring potentially strategies, for solving that in a long term way that gets away from the hardened armoring of the shoreline,” he said.

The concept alternatives presented include hydraulic dredging to move sand from nearshore deposits onto beaches, and installation of segmented or detached breakwaters (sometimes called reefs) that capture and hold nourishment by changing nearshore currents. Weicamp said hydraulic placement can be relatively inexpensive when local sand is used — he cited hydraulic nourishment costs of roughly $10–$12 per cubic yard in examples — and that the offshore reef designs are intended to reach equilibrium so the beach can self‑maintain over time. He described an example coastal project that, in its entirety, cost approximately $19 million; he said precise local cost estimates would require further engineering.

Permitting and landowner consent are important constraints. Weicamp said EGLE and federal agencies are open to softer strategies but require surveys and impact documentation; he said every affected landowner must consent to structures placed offshore of private property. The team conducted surveys to demonstrate that target offshore sand deposits were not sensitive fisheries habitat and reported that EGLE staff accepted the initial documentation as sufficient to proceed to permit engineering.

Commissioners asked about durability if lake levels rise, habitat effects, maintenance cycles and whether the approach would transfer sand to downstream communities such as New Buffalo. Weicamp said the designs are tested across high- and low-water scenarios and can be tailored to avoid navigation hazards and to provide fish and habitat benefits. He said structures would be designed for multi‑decadal service lives and that maintenance frequency depends primarily on storm size and frequency.

Why it matters: Berrien County and the City of St. Joe have faced episodic shoreline loss and high repair costs tied to fluctuating Great Lakes water levels and more intense storm events. The study’s approach aims to reduce long-term expenditures and ecological impacts by preserving natural sediment transport rather than relying on repeated hardening.

Weicamp and staff recommended further preliminary engineering, permitting work with EGLE and the Corps, and continued coordination with the City of St. Joe and county property owners to identify pilot sites and funding sources.