海角破解版

Lake Erie is tearing away parts of the shoreline along Geneva-on-the-Lake. The village has declared a state of emergency due to accelerated erosion.

The shoreline along Geneva Township Park lost 35 feet of land to Lake Erie last week. In the past 24 hours, it鈥檚 lost between six and eight feet more, said Geneva-on-the-Lake Village Administrator Jeremy Shaffer.

鈥淲e鈥檙e cautioning people to look but stay away, at a safe distance,鈥� Shaffer said. 鈥淏ut there鈥檚 also that imminent threat to public infrastructure, to critical infrastructure pieces in this.鈥�

Village Mayor Dwayne Barrett signed the paperwork to declare a state of emergency Monday night, Shaffer said. Erosion has been a concern for a few years, he said, but this winter鈥檚 high water and lack of vegetation along the shoreline has dramatically accelerated the problem.

鈥淭he water is hitting an empty shore at an angle 鈥� where there鈥檚 hill or bluffs, it accelerates,鈥漇haffer said. 鈥淚t seems to be, once it starts to accelerate, it doesn鈥檛 slow down until something changes it.鈥�

The mild winter is having aneffect too, Shaffer said. The lake is normally frozen by now, but  that hasn鈥檛 happened this year.

鈥淸Ice] kind of slows the waves down and acts as a natural barrier,鈥� Shaffer said. 鈥淭he waves that would normally be hitting ice and slowing down before they hit land are hitting the shoreline, and the shoreline is saturated with water.鈥�

Township Park will remain open despite the erosion concerns, said Township Park Manager Gary Dudeck. Visitors are still allowed in areas deemed safe by park staff, he said.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a small park, but people are still coming,鈥� he said.

Workers have put dirt and rocks down near the large pavilion to protect it from the water, Dudeck said.

鈥淭here are some big rocks down there that we鈥檝e had, but now they鈥檙e underwater,鈥� Dudeck said. 鈥淭hey don鈥檛 help.鈥�

Local officials met with a contractor Tuesday to discuss the problem and the Ohio Department of Natural Resources and local engineers will evaluate the site Wednesday, Shaffer said.

鈥淚 know it seems like a slow process and we know it鈥檚 getting worse in the meantime, but we have to go in with some kind of emergency action plan to get the bank held before we can go any farther,鈥� Shaffer said.

The county has discussed potential fixes over the years, said Ashtabula County Commissioner Casey Kozlowski, such as boulders along the shoreline.

鈥淎dditional improvements can be made, but generally those improvements are very costly,鈥� Kozlowski said. 鈥淎nd you鈥檙e talking probably thousands of dollars per foot.鈥�

The most recent estimate, made before this month鈥檚 erosion, put the cost of combatting the problem at about $1.3 million. The Geneva Township Park District has a levy on the March ballot for additional parks funding.

鈥淪omething we want to continue to do on this very issue is make our state and federal legislators aware of the erosion concerns that are occurring on the shoreline,鈥� Kozlowski said.

U.S. Rep. David Joyce (R-Ohio)鈥檚 office has been in contact with village officials to discuss potential grant and emergency funding, a spokesperson said. That includes Emergency Streambank and Shoreline Protection, a federal program aimed at addressing erosion threats to public infrastructure.

Erosion could impact water, storm and sanitary sewers along the shoreline, Kozlowksi said. Old Lake Road, which runs parallel to the lake near the park, is also at risk.

The village is seeking potential emergency funding. Neither the state nor federal government has declared a state of emergency for the area, said Village Administrator Shaffer.

Erosion is also having an impact on private property, Shaffer said, and officials can鈥檛 dedicate public money to fixing those damages. The village is holding a public meeting Feb. 17 to discuss residential concerns.

鈥淲e鈥檙e trying to figure out how to still help private property damage in some way, but we don鈥檛 know what that structure is going to be yet,鈥� Shaffer said.

The most recent estimate, made before the accelerated erosion this month, put the cost of combatting erosion around $1.3 million. The Geneva Township Park District has a levy on the March ballot to garner more funding.

鈥淪omething we want to continue to do on this very issue is make our state and federal legislators aware of the erosion concerns that are occurring on the shoreline,鈥� Kozlowski said.