Local and federal officials said they will step up their efforts to keep people from walking to the sliver of beach that has been decimated by high water levels on Lake Michigan and sand starvation caused by manmade structures in Portage.
The high water level on the lake this week breached a sand dune separating the beach from a rare geological wetland feature near the pavilion at the Portage Riverwalk and Lakefront, creating additional hazards, officials said.
Dramatic photos and videos of the area show waves from Lake Michigan, at near record height above sea level, pounding what remains of the Portage beach and flowing into the panne, or wetland area to the southwest of the pavilion that rises and falls with the lake levels.
What was once a sand dune has been decimated by the water.
Paul Labovitz, superintendent of the Indiana Dunes National Park, said the pavilion overlooking the beach is safe, for now, but, his team and Portage officials want to keep people away.
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“We’re not so much worried about the building right now, but the beach access is not safe,” Labovitz said, following a morning meeting Friday with city officials. “So, we’re going to do a better job of blocking access to the beach and have informational signs for people about going into the area.
“I think we all agree there’s nothing you can do to prevent people from doing anything, like going to the beach. Hopefully, we’ll survive the winter and improve access to the beach for beach season.”
High lake levels and the Port of Indiana blocking the natural flow of sand to the area has gone on for years, but, according to Portage Mayor John Cannon, little has been done despite the warnings the water would likely breach the sand dune to the west of the pavilion.
“I warned about this back in March and April, but, we were told nothing would happen and the building wasn’t in any danger,” Cannon said before meeting with the national park service, adding he believed the recent dune breach makes conditions more difficult for first responders to help people in need.
“All we can do is pressure the national park to close the park until we know the building is safe. The area is dangerous and I don’t want any kids or anyone out there.”
Cannon also called on the state to help provide $2 million to dredge sand from east of the port and dump it several hundreds of yards off the Portage beach, hoping water will push the sand into replenishing the beach.
“That gets us some time, maybe a five-year window, to figure out how to pump more sand to the beach naturally.”
Labovitz and city officials agreed the pavilion is safe — for now — but they said they would monitor the area around the building throughout the winter.
Portage Fire Chief Tim Sosbe said he agreed the building is safe but, he said, people should stay off the beach and trails leading to the beach. When it comes to public safety, police and firefighters constantly have to adapt to unsafe and unusual conditions to save people, Sosbe said.
“We have (challenges) with just about any environment we deal with,” he said. “It would be a little more work for us to go down to the location or treat someone and bring them up form the beach.
“We try to calculate those risks the best we can and respond appropriately”
Natalie Johnson, of Save the Dunes, agreed dredging sand from east of the Port and pumping it towards the Portage and Odgen Dunes beaches is a temporary fix but, she said the State of Indiana needs to do more, including helping fund an $800,000 study by the Army Corps of Engineers on stopping the sand erosion.
“We have to think in terms of long-term sustainability for that site,” Johnson said. “How do you account for, of course, the natural occurring process of erosion and the unnatural cause of erosion caused by the Port of Indiana.”
Michael Gonzalez is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.