GRAND HAVEN, MI (WHTC-AM/FM, July 8, 2023) – What is believed to be the cause of having an alternative to the popular Lake Michigan beaches in Ottawa County off limits for the time being is being addressed.
On Friday, the Detroit District of US Army Corps of Engineers, which maintains the navigation system of 81 harbors and channels involving the Great Lakes that touch Michigan shores, announced that dredging operations in the Grand Haven harbor have been “paused.” Holland-based King Company, who is the usual contractor to handle such operations along Lake Michigan, had moved about two thirds of the slated 141,000 cubic yards of sediment to an area north of the harbor, which included the North Beach County Park area near Ferrysburg.
On Thursday, the Ottawa County Department of Public Health placed a No Body Contact Advisory for the waters there due to elevated levels of E.coli, which routine testing done on Wednesday had indicated. In Friday’s announcement, the Army Corps said that, while the source of the bacteria is unknown, heavy rains in northwest Ottawa County over the past week likely have elevated bacteria levels in the Grand River where the dredging operations were being conducted. Since those operations take on a “significant” amount of river water, it could explain why the E.coli levels where the sediment was placed was elevated.
The pause in the dredging, as well as the health advisory, will remain in effect until further tests show that those levels have receded. The Army Corps will conduct tests independent of the OCDPH during this time while working with local officials on the matter.
The Grand Haven Harbor will remain open despite the pause in dredging, the operation of which was targeted for a mid to late July completion.
No other areas are affected by this operation. North Beach has long been seen as a less-congested spot for enjoying the Lake Michigan shoreline to that of Holland State Park, Grand Haven State Park, Tunnel Park and Hoffmaster State Park.
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