Beaches benefit from harbor dredging

Lake Michigan beaches in Laketown Township will see the benefits of dredging work at Holland Harbor.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the agency that oversees the work, announced that a contractor will begin work on Holland Harbor as early as Thursday, April 24, 2025, and finish in mid- to late-May.

The current flow in Lake Michigan tends to be from north to south.  With the current flowing south, the sediment (primarily sand) flows up against the north pier of the Holland Channel and then into the mouth of the channel.  The dredged material from the mouth of the Holland Channel will be deposited offshore of Macatawa. From there, the sand drifts south and will help rebuild beaches from Macatawa to Saugatuck Harbor.

Dredged sediment will be placed south of Holland Harbor on the nearshore lake bottom 8 to 12 feet deep, according to the Corps. The placement allows the beach to be nourished – a replacement of eroded sediment – without the impacts of heavy machinery or pipes onshore.  

The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy previously approved a water quality certification for sediment to be placed in the area with a Section 401 water quality certification. 

The dredging depends on the weather.

Removing shoaling

The Holland work is to remove shoaling across the channel.

Surveys indicate a shoal formed in the winter months across the entrance to the harbor that could potentially impact commercial shipping if not addressed, according to a press release from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

King Co. Inc., based in Holland, will dredge about 12,400 cubic yards of sediment hydraulically. The project will cost $344,480 out of a three-project contract that also includes Grand Haven and St. Joseph Harbors. 

“After finding the shoaling in Holland, we asked the contractor to prioritize the harbor in their spring schedule to keep commercial vessel traffic moving without impact,” said Liz Newell Wilkinson, the operations manager at the Grand Haven Office of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Detroit District. “Our staff works hard to get out early after ice to survey and identify potential problem areas in the Great Lakes Navigation System.” 

Holland Harbor is considered a deep draft commercial harbor with an authorized federal channel depth of 23 feet at the entrance. If ships are unable to draft at their full capability, commercial traffic is forced to take less freight or “light load.” A loss of 4 to 5 feet in channel depth would result in a loss of about $1.4 million to $1.9 million per year to the shipping industry at Holland Harbor due to light loading, according to Corps of Engineers’ Great Lakes – System Analysis of Navigation Depths (GL-SAND). 

Dredging is authorized for 24-hours-per-day operations. The public is asked to adhere to all safety signage, public notices and broadcast warnings to mariners.