Why dredging is important in Berrien County harbors

“So, at New Buffalo harbor you know there is significant economy built around marine usage around this harbor, so that’s what this dredging supports, getting everyone in and out safely so that you can use the harbor," said Liz Wilkinson, from the Army Corps of Engineers.

Wilkinson says dredging is all about deepening the channel so more ships are able to enter the marina, or even through the marina.

While cargo ships aren’t coming through New Buffalo, the Army Corps still dredges the area for safety, as well as replenishing some lost sand south of the harbor.

“Yeah, we do target erosion areas that are relatively near the harbor, so at New Buffalo the material is going to be pumped about 1500 feet south of the south breakwater, starting about 1500 feet and going another 1500 feet south it’ll be kind of spread throughout that area in the nearshore," Wilkinson said.

Dredging in Berrien County is continuing through this month, with the Army Corps focusing on the channel in St. Joseph, Mich., but residents in New Buffalo might want some of the sentiment from that channel.

Erosion is a problem that around 250 miles of lakeshore in the state of Michigan is facing, with a good amount of Berrien County’s shore under the high-risk category. Residents of New Buffalo are speaking out about the erosion issue, and how the dredging is a minor fix.

“Here in New Buffalo the sand from dredging the channel is not enough to replenish even a small fraction of the sand that has been stopped or redirected so we appreciate the sand, but it isn’t enough," said Ron Watson, the Vice President of the New Buffalo Shoreline Alliance.

Watson says there used to be a beachfront immediately south of the harbor, but the harbor itself has redirected sand from reaching the shore to the south, adding to the erosion problem.

Now the shoreline from New Buffalo to the state border is armored. Again, dredging is helpful, but more of a bandage, rather than a permanent solution.

Watson said, “In this case there’s 15,000 cubic yards of sentiment that they’re dredging, which is quite a bit more than they have in the past in the past when they’ve done maybe half or less than half of that it was less of an impact and the sand got redistributed relatively quickly we’re hoping that there’s enough sand there that will give us a beach in the summer, it probably won’t be there after that.”

Currently, the New Buffalo Shoreline Alliance is working with lawmakers to find that permanent solution, and we will keep you updated as this problem, and their solutions, continue.