HOLLAND, Mi., (AP) Crews demolished a Park Township home on Friday, Nov. 22, that was barely hanging on to a bluff over Lake Michigan.
A contractor said he was hired by the homeowner to tear down the house off Lakeshore Drive north of Camp Geneva. They used an excavator to knock it down, sending some debris down a steep cliff and into the water.
Erosion linked to high lake levels washed away much of the bluff, leaving the houses underside hanging out over the lake. Parts of the foundation had already collapsed, so looking up at it from below Friday morning before demolition, massive holes could be seen in the bottom.
The threat of high water levels is expected to continue into the spring. Lake levels are forecast to drop by only 6 inches over the winter, putting spring 2020 levels a full foot higher than they were in spring 2019.
Data from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers show Lake Michigan was nearly 3 feet above average this fall, and over the next five months is projected to equal or exceed its all-time record highs set in 1986 and 1987. With each of the five Great Lakes at well above average levels, storms and wave action have caused increased erosion and flooding along shorelines regionwide.
This comes at a cost for property owners along the coast, who have seen their properties erode more and more with every storm.
Theres an awful lot of uncertainty because people dont know what their frontage is going to do, said Mike Schaap, founder and president of Holland-based Mike Schaap Builders Inc. Uncertainty brings a certain level of being more standoffish on wanting to build, just because of the unknown.
Schaaps company builds high-end custom homes along the lakeshore. He now has daily conversations about how to protect existing houses or real estate along the coast, given that water levels are as high as hes ever seen them.
With the recent storms and increased shoreline erosion, the state of Michigan has expedited measures that property owners can use to protect their properties. It remains to be seen how much the issues will affect peoples desire to build along the coastline in the future.
People will have to continue to think through the high levels of risk associated with developing along the coast of Lake Michigan. But this has always been the case with that type of development, Schaap said.
I think people enjoy the beautiful sunsets, but right now theyre seeing the other side of being on the lake thats part of the experience of living on the lake, he said. Until we see the waters receding a bit, theres going to be that level of risk people have to think through.
Ottawa County Emergency Management Director Nick Bonstell says several properties have suffered substantial damage from recent lakeside erosion.
