March
is nearly behind us, now, and it’s time to get our launch season underway.
One
of the most-talked-about off-season topics has been the loss of Lake Michigan water
and how that affects boaters here at Pier 33, in and around the St. Joseph
harbor and through Michigan and the Great Lakes.
Pier
33 recently hosted a public forum, March 16, during our Spring Open House. Thank
you to all who attended. The forum featured presentations by Michigan State
Representative Al Pscholka, John Gruchot from Berrien County Community Development
and Kim Fish, Assistant Division
Chief, Water Resources Division, Michigan Department of Environmental Quality.
I also had an opportunity to fill boaters in on Pier 33’s outlook and plans for
the coming season. Our presenters arrived with plenty of helpful information
and the attending boaters had lots of great questions. Hopefully, we were able
to provide enough information to the group to help boaters understand the
current conditions, anticipate what may occur during the season and plan to
adapt as needed for the summer of 2013.
Our dry summer in 2012 and a succession of
warmer-than-usual winters brought a noticeable loss
of water under everyone’s
boat by the end of the 2012 season. Water levels usually do drop as we get into
the fall, but this was quite a bit more than usual. It became a longer climb
down to the gunwale, dock lines got tight and in some marinas, boaters were
bottomed-out or had difficulty accessing ramps or haul-out facilities.
We’ve kept a careful watch during the
off-season on regular forecast updates provided by the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers. As of today’s date, Lake Michigan is 15 inches below its level of
one year ago and is forecasted to rise 3 to 4 inches over the next month.
Here
is a link to great data provided on-line by USACE: Click
Here.
For navigation purposes, the level of the
Lake itself isn’t that critical to our recreational boaters … until it impacts
the depth of the rivers & channels. As the Lake lowers, so do its
tributaries. As the level of the St. Joseph River and Morrison Channels has
dropped right along with Lake Michigan, sandy shoaled areas become more
prevalent and dangerous, in some places strangling access to the lake, launch
ramps and marinas.
In early March, Pier 33 commissioned a
professional survey of a critical area of Morrison Channel, extending roughly
from our gas dock down river to the edge of our showroom parking lot. That’s
the same area where Pier 33 has traditionally maintained depths to allow safe
passage for our own boaters and neighboring boaters upriver. The data is
plotted on an overlay of Morrison Channel that looks like the photo shown here.
With the plotted depths so close together and in the size they are printed,
this can only be read in a super-enlarged version. A 4’ x 6’ reproduction of
this photo is on display at Pier 33 now. In general, the photo will show nearly
all key depths above 4’ feet and most in the 6 to 7 foot range, with the
exception of the “Boathouse” side of Morrison Channel and areas upriver of our
gas dock. The deep-water area at our gas dock does only extend approximately
halfway across the Channel – within the area where Pier 33 is permitted to
dredge.
Before you begin your boating season on
Morrison Channel, I would encourage you to visit our office and have a look at
the enlarged survey photo, so that you can boat confidently in areas of the
Channel where there is ample depth and also be aware of areas you should stay
clear of. If you would like to have this
photo file for your own review, please contact me via e-mail and I will send it
to you.
This survey was performed when the surface level
of Morrison Channel was 576.7 above sea level. This is an important benchmark,
as it allows us to provide daily updates throughout the season that show how
much – or how little the Channel has risen or fallen. Watch for more
information about those updates – we will be posting daily via Twitter once the
season is really underway. I hope those updates will be helpful to you.
After analyzing our March 4 survey, we
concluded that there is no dredging required now within Pier 33’s permitted
dredging area. Depths are apparently sufficient for safe navigation, although
there are a few isolated lower spots (just below 4 feet per the survey). As the
Lake level increases during the summer, we should see this area of the Channel
remain navigable to most powerboats.
We will continue to monitor the changing
level of the Lake and Morrison Channel throughout the boating season and this
blog will be a good place for you to check in for that updated information.
Likewise, as mentioned, be on the lookout via our Twitter feed: www.twitter.com/pier33marina for
daily Channel level updates as the season gets going.
In 2005 and 2006, Pier 33 completely replaced
all docks at our South and East marinas with adjustable steel docks designed by
Donkersloot & Sons of New Buffalo, MI. These docks can be raised and lowered,
seasonally, to accommodate changing levels. Next week (week of April 1), the
Donkersloot crew will be in town to drop each dock area either one (7.5”) or
two (15”, where possible) notches. This will adjustment will offset some of the
water loss, make it safer and easier for our boaters to board and will also
bring the underside dock pilings lower to the water, providing better
protection for each boat and helping prevent slide-unders. Our staff has also
rigged a new gizmo that will be undergoing tests during our launch season,
aptly named the
“Gelcoat Damage Reducer”. It’s a simple PVC and rope rig that
will cap the bottom of the outermost dock piling. These are available for sale
at our Ship’s Store and can be self installed, or you can fabricate your own. See
Greg Belanger. Please do not bolt or screw any fenders, boards or others materials
onto the docks – lines or straps, only.
Be aware in advance, please, that lowering
the docks will increase the slope of the adjustable steps. It will be a
slightly greater incline. Please be patient and get used to the new feel.
Now, let’s swing back to dredging and future
plans. Pier 33 has always maintained Morrison Channel on a self-funded basis,
with our own permits and under our own direction. We currently have a valid
permit to continue dredging as needed. During the past few months, Berrien
County Community Development has spearheaded an effort to create a system of
riverfront assessment districts that will allow a bond to be issued and then
repaid by property owners (including all of the affected marinas such as Pier
33) for dredging the St. Joseph River and Morrison Channel. Pier 33 fully
supports this effort by Berrien County – and it’s not an easy project to bring
together. A healthy recreational boating community throughout St. Joseph and Benton
Harbor is good for all of us – marina operators, boaters and the community at
large. This plan by the County is at no cost to the taxpayers beyond the
assessment districts.
- To view the summary that the County provided
for our March 16 forum, Click Here.
- To view the planned dredging areas, Click Here.
Unfortunately, despite urgent efforts and
excellent cooperation among all involved, this project is a ways off. If and
when the County’s broad-project permit is issued, any property holder can use
that permit independently (with the County’s permission) to get dredging underway at there own expense.
The final pieces of the process – assessments defined, all municipalities
agreed, funding in place and a dredge in the river – will not likely arrive
until late summer and that will not provide relief for many of our neighboring
boaters. Yet the ultimate goal of having navigable channels all around our
island is worthwhile and important – so please be patient and supportive of the
County’s efforts.
The coordination of this comprehensive dredging
approach should bring us some better economies of scale, reducing the overall
cost per cubic yard and thereby allowing marinas such as Pier 33 to hold down
the pass-along costs that must ultimately occur. We want to keep boating as
affordable as possible for our boaters. Between 2000 and 2013, Pier 33 spent
nearly $1 Million to maintain Morrison Channel, including nearly $200k in 2012.
Those costs are rising with each dredging occasion, including engineering,
permitting, removal and disposal.
For the Summer of 2013 – and certainly beyond
– we’re glad to accommodate boaters who don’t yet have the advantages found at
Pier 33 right now. We have ample water, great docks, a friendly atmosphere, a
short ride to the Lake, multiple convenient services such as Launch on Command,
Hook ‘n Go, Mobile Pump Out, certified technicians and extended hours. As of
this date, we do have some dock openings, but those are closing quickly. We
would be glad to have you with us if it’s time for a change. To learn more about dock, service and storage options, Contact Us Here or call (800) 886-0493 or (269) 983-3333.
Feel welcome to comment here or to contact me
with any questions that we can help with. Happy Boating in 2013.
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