Politics & Government

City Of Mentor Wants To Install Breakwall To Prevent Beach Erosion At Mentor Lagoons

The bluffs east of the Mentor Harbor Yacht Club have already lost about 200 feet since 2004

While last year's warm winter may have been a pleasant surprise for many, it was bad news for beaches.

When Lake Erie doesn't freeze, its waves can reach eight feet high and those waves speed up the erosion of shoreline, explained Bob Martin, the city of Mentor's director of parks and recreation.

The city of Mentor is especially concerned about a stretch of shoreline that reaches from the across the .

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Since 2004, that stretch of bluffs has lost about 200 feet, Martin said.

"The lake really started to accelerate (the erosion) during the winter," he said. "We didn't freeze last year and the winter waves just tear things up."

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However, the city of Mentor does have a plan to stall the erosion -- a 500-foot stone breakwall that would start at the border of the Mentor Harbor Yacht Club and stretch east across the Lagoons shore.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has already approved the plan and now the city only needs the go-ahead from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.

Martin hopes to start construction of the wall this fall, before Lake Erie can do another winter's worth of damage.

The wall is expected to cost about $225,000, which the city will pay.


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