![\"a](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/beach1.jpg\")
lake michigan and lake huron\u2019s average lake level for february reached a record height this year, according to the u.s. army corps of engineers<\/a>. the high level and pounding waves are eroding beaches in chicago and other cities hugging the great lakes.<\/p>\n some 768 miles southeast of evanston, the area surrounding beaufort, south carolina, is also in a battle with shrinking beachfronts as the atlantic ocean rises.<\/p>\n governments in beaufort and evanston are making plans to deal with the rising waters and other impacts of climate change. global warming due to fossil fuel emissions is making the ocean expand and melting ice sheets and glaciers are causing sea level rise, according to noaa<\/a>. lake michigan\u2019s water level will continue to rise and fall.<\/a> but the maximum lake level will increase and the minimum lake level will decrease, according to kumar jensen, chief sustainability and resilience officer for the city of evanston.<\/p>\n the two cities are experiencing earth\u2019s warming in different ways, as beaufort will have to deal with atlantic ocean hurricanes, while evanston will weather severe rainfall. both areas are considering how to combat beach erosion and planning to fix strained storm water systems.<\/p>\n evanston\u2019s lee street beach is one of many in the chicago area that has decreased in size. evanston\u2019s dog beach went under water<\/a> a few years ago and has stayed there.<\/p>\n \u201ceven things like our dog beach and places along the chicago shoreline have not dealt well with just the lake levels being higher,\u201d jensen said. \u201ca lot of infrastructure is hidden or has been submerged.\u201d<\/p>\n he said the lake level along the evanston shore has about a six-foot range, but the range will become more extreme in the future. lake levels reached record lows only a few years ago in 2013, suggesting unpredictable swings at a time when suburbs inland from the lake shore are running out of well water and would like to put a straw in the lake.<\/p>\n jensen said there is \u201cnot a ton\u201d the city can do to expand the beaches, except if it were able to move them inward \u2014 an option the city is not considering. sidewalks and roads lie near evanston\u2019s beaches, offering little room for expansion. evanston has added sand to the beaches in the past, he said, but not because of rising lake levels. the city has replaced sand that eroded, carried away by the currents to indiana and michigan \u2014 a process that occurs even when the water level is low. but the massive scale of submerging shore is something new.<\/p>\n lara biggs, the engineering and capital planning bureau chief for the city of evanston, told the city council<\/a> in february that rock walls on beaches in evanston have lost height, as rocks slip into the lake. evanston was considering hiring a coastal engineering firm to assess the shoreline problems, she said. kimberly kull, division chief of emergency management and logistics for the evanston fire department, said at the city council meeting that it would take an estimated $5.78 million to fix the rock walls.<\/p>\n south carolina\u2019s beaches are shrinking quickly as well. hunting island state park beach, 14 miles from beaufort, loses about 15 feet of sand a year on average because of erosion, according to park manager j.w. weatherford. he said wind and jet streams cause the erosion, along with storms. hunting island is a barrier island, which means that it sits next to the ocean and shields inland areas from storms.<\/p>\n the park adds more sand to its beach every 10 years, a process called beach renourishment. it costs the park $8 million each time. the new sand dunes prevent the island\u2019s bathrooms and parking lots from flooding, according to weatherford. in mid-february, the sand was almost as tall as a person, as the park was raising the beach level.<\/p>\n weatherford said the park \u201crenourishes\u201d the beach so south carolina residents and tourists can still access it. beaches contribute to the local economy, as beach visitors stay at hotels, for example.<\/p>\n \u201cthe entire county is built off of the economy of the beaches,\u201d weatherford said.<\/p>\n it\u2019s not only beaches that are seeing the effects of climate change. beaufort\u2019s mossy oaks neighborhood occupies an 800-acre floodplain, said billy keyserling, the city\u2019s mayor. many houses have sprung up in the neighborhood over the years, and the stormwater system cannot accommodate all of the buildings.<\/p>\n \u201cthey never anticipated that kind of number of houses,\u201d keyserling said.<\/p>\n the city is experiencing higher tides and more frequent rain events, said rikki parker, the former south coast office director and legal analyst for the coastal conservation league. when there is both a high tide and rain in mossy oaks, water floods out of the neighborhood\u2019s drainage ditches and ponds, and enters streets and people\u2019s homes.<\/p>\n \u201cmossy oaks \u2026 has suffered significantly over the past four years,\u201d she said. \u201cwe have homes that have been repeat-flooded four or five times over the past four years.\u201d<\/p>\n the city is conducting an approximately $6 million engineering project in mossy oaks, according to matt st. clair, public projects and facilities director for the city of beaufort. in the first phase of the project, the city cleaned out a canal \u2014 holding dirt, shopping carts and other items \u2014 so it could hold more water. st. clair said in the second phase, which will start this year, they will enlarge drainage pipes and repair roads that are affected by the pipe work. they will also construct five flood gates in the neighborhood.<\/p>\n the flood gates will separate catch basins, which are similar to ponds. before a high rain event, the city will lower the amount of water in the catch basins, st. clair said. they will also close the flood gates, which will prevent tidal water from entering the basins. only rainwater will enter the ponds.<\/p>\n \u201cwith the installation of the flood gates, we\u2019ll be able to control \u2026 that tidal water trying to come in, as well as allow the water to come out,\u201d st. clair explained.<\/p>\n jensen said evanston also faces more extreme storms in the future. the chicago area is confronting them already with swollen rivers flooding homes and roads. richard b. rood, a professor in the university of michigan\u2019s department of climate and space sciences and engineering, said winter storms in illinois will likely be \u201cmuch, much wetter,\u201d and severe summer storms might bring \u201cvery extraordinary precipitation.\u201d<\/p>\n rood said a larger percentage of yearly rain will occur during extreme rain events. climate change will warm the air, and warm air can store more water vapor. the ground will also warm and more of its water will evaporate. the increasing water vapor in the air will lead to rain \u2014 lots of rain.<\/p>\n hal sprague, president of citizens\u2019 greener evanston, said flooding from rain is one of the main issues that evanston will have to face when building resilience to climate change. he said that some pipes in the city were built a century ago. evanston has both a combined sewer system, which holds both sewage and stormwater, and a newer, separate stormwater system.<\/a><\/p>\n during heavy rain events, sewage and rainwater used to backup into some residents\u2019 basements, sprague said. in response, the city spent<\/a> about $210 million updating its sewer system<\/a> from 1991 to 2008, which included constructing a relief sewer system, according to the city of evanston. the system sends excess water to a network of artificial rivers called the deep tunnel, constructed beneath the entire chicago metropolitan area.<\/p>\n in 2018<\/a>, evanston passed a climate action and resilience plan<\/a>, and one element of the plan is to improve storm water systems. jensen said the city hired a consultant to conduct a stormwater utility analysis, in which they\u2019ll learn where water ends up in the city during rain events and how much rain different stormwater systems can take. evanston can then determine which infrastructure needs to be upgraded, he said.<\/p>\nfighting beach erosion or letting it be<\/strong><\/h2>\n
![\"kumar](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/kumar.jpg\")
![\"the](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/beachfront.jpg\")
preparing stormwater systems for increased rain<\/strong><\/h2>\n
![\"a](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/floodedited.jpg\")