FERRYSBURG, MI -- Last fall the residential beachfront near North Beach Park was a mess of debris and storm-carved dunes encroaching on homes.

Now it’s an unbroken embattlement of boulders ready for the next big storm.

Shoreline residents in West Michigan are continuing to erect sea barriers and move their homes further inland as experts project Lake Michigan to keep at record heights and swallow even more property this year.

Nick Bonstell, director of the Ottawa County Emergency Management, said residents are much more prepared for dune-swallowing storms now than last year, when three big fall storms atop near-record lake heights shrank dune property and toppled some Lake Michigan shoreline homes down bluffs.

Still, this year could be even worse in some parts, he said.

“We’re in a much better position this year than we were last year with the pro-activeness of the property owners, but we’re still in a situation that we’ve never been in before with the record high water levels,” Bonstell said.

“I wouldn’t even venture to take a guess at the impact that the new level of water is going to have on some of those barriers. It’s something we’re going to have to watch closely as we move through the summer time.”

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers projects Lakes Michigan-Huron water levels to top the record heights set in 1986 from April through August. The six-month projection estimates water levels could subside in September below the 1986 record.

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Lakes Michigan and Huron broke record heights in January, February and March. In March, the waters were 3 feet higher than the long-term average.

Scott Tucker, owner of Tucker Marine Construction, said business hasn’t slowed since last fall. Now most of his customers, having weathered the fall and seeing the record levels ahead, are wanting to turn their temporary coastal defenses into permanent ones, such as seawalls and riprap.

“Anybody that lives on an at-risk site has pretty much come to the conclusion they’re going to have to do something,” he said.

From a bird’s eye view, the West Michigan shoreline has vastly changed from a year ago. Where last year there was only sand, now you might see a chain of coastal defenses, Tucker said.

“I’ve done thousands of feet of (coastal defense) and other companies have done thousands of feet,” he said. “If you see all the different things that have been built, it’s amazing. Before, very few of them had walls or revetments.”

Related: Interactive graphic shows historic water fluctuations on the Great Lakes

When the water levels recede, the riprip and seawalls are eventually covered by sand, Tucker said.

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers water level forecasts for Lakes Michigan and Huron. (Courtesy | U.S. Army Corps of Engineers)

The continued record water level projections follow a quiet winter and early spring without any large storm systems further causing large erosion to the shoreline, according to Bonstell.

The county shoreline narrowly dodged a bad storm on Monday, April 13, when the National Weather Service was predicting sustained gale-force winds.

“We actually got pretty lucky with Monday’s storm … Right at the last moment it actually shifted north,” Bonstell said. “As of today, we haven’t had any reported structures that have fallen over the edge due to Monday’s storm.”

No structures or homes have fallen into the lake in Ottawa County. About three to five homes were demolished before they could tumble. Another seven or so homes have been moved inland. Bonstell said people are continuing to move their homes inland.

It may not be until late 2021 that water levels on Lake Michigan decrease to the point where they aren’t threatening property owners, Bonstell said.

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