The waves were high, and the current was rough Thursday, but looking at 12th Street beach — or what’s left of it — something else was pretty apparent.
“Even from the last time we were here, it’s closer,” Jonnie Mitchell, a longtime Chicago resident, said.
Mitchell was speaking about the waters of Lake Michigan.
"There is no beach," Drena Boswell added. "The water is coming up all the way to the stairs to even walk toward the beach. There isn’t sand for you to walk on.”
Lakeshore erosion is becoming an increasing problem in Chicago, the suburbs and Northwest Indiana.
Lake levels normally rise and fall, but an increase in big rain events over the years has contributed to a growth of problems along the shoreline, according to local meteorologists.
It’s something even visitors to city’s beaches can’t help but notice.
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“There's no where the kids can play," Mitchell said. "They’re walking on the edge, trying to get past. We need help."
The Chicago Park District is teaming up with the city to fund an evaluation report with Chicago Shoreline Protection Project.
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The report will take a closer look at what work needs to be done to rehabilitate the deteriorated parts of Chicago’s lakefront.
The Park District Board of Commissioners told NBC 5 in a statement, in part that, “this shoreline assessment will create a blueprint for any future repair work that needs to be done on the shoreline. This assessment is just the first step.”
The city and district will both put up $750,000 to fund half of the $3 million study.
The city says the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will pay the remaining $1.5 million and then award the contracts to complete the study.
