Storm Silt Build Up Plus Dredging Delays Cause State of Emergency for Great Lakes Harbors

We know that storms create problems on land and offshore, but what about under water? Storms create big waves which churn up rivers and lakes and deposit silt at the mouth of harbors. Normally, dredging takes care of that but efforts are backlogged and causing problems for shipping.

We live in Grand Haven, which is situated at the mouth of the Grand River where it empties into Lake Michigan. The Grand River is Michigan's longest river, from its source in Hillsdale County, Michigan to Grand Haven. The Grand passes through Lansing, Eaton Rapids and Grand Rapids, traversing seven counties on its journey to Lake Michigan. The Grand is fed by many several lakes and eight tributaries: the Red Cedar, Rogue, Maple, Looking Glass and Thornapple Rivers and two large creeks: the Plaster and Coldwater.

Like a giant vortex, all these water sources suck water and debris to the lake. Sewage, vegetation and refuse dumped into the Grand also flows toward Grand Haven. Several decades ago, residents found medical waste, syringes and rubber gloves in the Grand River. Medical waste was accidentally dumped in the river or washed out of storm drains with flooding. This pollution flushed westward from Grand Rapids and other cities up river. Several months ago, clean up efforts in the Grand yielded massive amounts of trash.

Waste treatment and natural resources studies have found drugs in the Grand River, too. Ibuprophen, steroids, birth control, hormones and anti-seizure medications were found dissolved in river water. This is linked to users disposing of unwanted medications by flushing them down the toilet.

Trash, organic debris and salt grinds together to form a silt that collects in the river channel mouth. From the lake side of the channel, strong winds and storms create waves that push sand into the channel. The resulting wall can be several feet high. This creates problems for deep-hulled boats. It slows shipping and raises costs on products.

The clear the shipping lane, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers must send out dredging boats to dig out the mouth of the channel and redistribute the sand elsewhere. Michigan, like most of the United States, has experienced a stormy spring and summer this year. Couple that with the budget cuts and it puts the dredging schedule way behind. A dredging state of emergency exists. Next year is expected to get worse. Some Great Lakes harbors may close altogether.

Shipping companies pay into a Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund, which Michigan Secretary of State Candace Miller says is being diverted. Funds aren't available for dredging despite taxes being paid in. Miller is co-sponsoring a bill that says that all trust fund money must go directly to harbor maintenance.

Marilisa Kinney Sachteleben writes about weather-related issues from a background teaching environmental, earth and natural science.