Jan. 15, 2020 7:10p
(WGTD)---Racine Mayor Cory Mason declared a state of emergency in the city Wednesday, opening the door for the possibility of federal and state help in dealing with Lake Michigan shoreline erosion.
The problem was greatly exacerbated by last weekend’s huge waves made worse by the high water level. According to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the level of the connected lakes Michigan and Huron was forecast five days ago to set a record for this month’s January average.
Speaking to reporters following a Martin Luther King birthday celebration at Julian Thomas Elementary School, Mason said he’s already talked to Gov. Evers, and that city officials are still evaluating all of the damage.
The list includes the partial failure of a revetment wall in Pershing Park, the collapse of part of a bike path near the Racine Zoo and damage to storm water outlet infrastructure, Mason said.
This isn’t the first time that a local official has declared an emergency because of shoreline erosion.
Racine County Executive Jonathan Delagrave did it two years ago because of problems in the Lake Park area of Mt. Pleasant south of the city. The Village spent over $600,000 to beef up a 750 ft. section.
Meanwhile, Kenosha Mayor John Antaramian says the impact on his city’s lakefront from last weekend’s storm could’ve been much worse, had the city not taken action three years ago to begin shoring up the shoreline.
Millions of dollars were spent on Kennedy and Southport parks. But the city wasn’t able to protect all of Southport fast enough---a section of shoreline south of the Southport Beach House and east of the sewage treatment plant collapsed. The area is now fenced off.
Just last fall, city officials allocated $5 million to address that problem. The work is expected to begin later this year.
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