Another Critical Improvement Project

Our drone's perspective of work in progress late last week, about five solid days into digging

For the second time in as many major projects, our excavating contractor proved us wrong. On both occasions he estimated the heavy lifting of their work would be completed in 7-10 days, on both occasions we were skeptical (at best), and on both occasions he got the job done -- both done well and on schedule. Seeing the long-reach excavator almost to the bay going into the holiday weekend has provided even more reason for celebration this 4th of July.

As with the last project (completed in 2016), this is a major victory for the broader project. And also as with the last time, the scope of the project involved the complete rehabilitation of ~3,000 linear feet of interior earthen berm (or "dike") on our West Marsh.

Makeshift repairs like this one were becoming more and more
frequent going into this spring; it will be nice to give the shovel
a rest and not have to go on daily patrols looking for leaks

This project quickly moved up the priority list as the water levels in the lake and bay continued to climb. We really started thinking about the need for this work in 2017. As repairs became more frequent in 2018, we started laying the groundwork from a permitting and funding perspective. But as water levels continued to press higher, it became evident that this really needed to be a 2019 project. It had reached emergency status.

We call this levee an "interior dike" (as opposed to a bay-front or lake-front "exterior dike") because under normal circumstances, it would be. But sustained historically high water levels in Sandusky Bay have backed water up on a neighboring property and in so doing exposed us to sustained water pressures that the original dike was never built to withstand. As a result, we leaked -- early and often through much of this spring. And the situation created a snowball effect that wasn't good for our near-term or long-term management goals.

Excessively high water on the neighbor's side of the dike meant one of two things. Either (1) we conducted business as usual on our side -- with lower water levels in the main West Marsh and sometimes daily breaches from head pressure differentials that were greater than the dike could withstand, or (2) we held our main West Marsh higher than we wanted (from a habitat development and broader earthen infrastructure perspective) to reduce the pressure and likelihood of regular leaks and blow-outs. Neither situation was ideal, but that's been the reality, really for the last couple growing seasons.

This image highlights the first couple days of
digging and the quality of the clay we found,
visible by the teeth marks of the excavator
seen in the lower-right (click to enlarge)

Fortunately for us, we had local knowledge that the clay we needed was available on site -- in fact, directly adjacent to the existing dike. Roy reminded me early on in this project that if there is high ground in a coastal marsh, there is usually deep water nearby. But fortunately for us, the "deep" water nearby (the channel from which the clay was excavated to build the original dike) wasn't too deep. And also fortunate for us, there was an ecological driver to dig the adjacent channel deeper.

The premise is this: by digging the channel deeper we accomplish two goals -- (1) we harvest the clay needed to rehabilitate the earthen berm over its original "footprint" in the marsh, and (2) we create deep-water habitat (8-10' deep) that will allow a broader diversity of fish species to survive weather extremes within the marsh . . . both extended heat spells in the summer and prolonged ice cover in the winter. This minimum depth tends to provide critical refuge from what would otherwise be fatally low dips in available oxygen. And it was this win-win that allowed us both to get the original permit from the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and to begin the project before the typical July 1 start date. (The Corps and affiliated agencies typically restrict all "in-water" work through June to protect fish spawning, but in our particular case, the risk of waiting outweighed the risk of starting a couple weeks early, so we were granted a waiver.)

The first day of digging from another perspective (I'm standing on the far left of the new pile of clay for scale); we really
didn't know what the quality of the clay would look like until we started to dig -- we've been pleased from start to finish

This image depicts what ended up being the final day of excavation (before clay was "put up" onto the dike); with the muddy
bay water to the left and in the background, it serves as a stark contrast to the clear, stable water within the marsh (right)

Now that we are 95% finished with the excavating portion of the project, the risk of leaks or blow-outs is dramatically reduced. We will now wait for the excavated clay to de-water and dry, hopefully over the next couple/few months, and then the contractor will bring in a dozer to level the "crown" (top of the dike) and reshape the side slopes. By this time next year, we should be able to drive a pickup truck all the way around the West Marsh. This will be a first since we took possession of the property in 2015 and will probably afford the best access this site has seen since at least the 1980s.

One more fun perspective of this most recent work from the sky -- this one taken by ODNR
Division of Wildlife Private Lands biologist Mark Witt from the agency's helicopter;
two important notes: (1) Private Lands will once again be supporting this project financially --
which is immensely helpful, and (2) notice the water covering nearly all of the farm ground
on the very top of the page . . . absolutely amazing

The long-reach in action -- each bucket could be placed in 20-30 seconds

A Ribbon of Limestone (From the Sky)

Newly placed limestone reinforces the main exterior dike (center) protecting the main West Marsh (left)
from the open bay (right) 

To close the loop on our most recent improvement project -- and to provide another perspective on the impact of historically high water on Lake Erie and Sandusky Bay -- I decided to get the drone in the air. [Call me a fair-weather pilot, but conditions were about perfect yesterday for a late morning flight in March!]

The image above does a nice job depicting the breadth of our recent stone work -- a little over 1,200 linear feet in all. And if you click on the image to enlarge you can also see how sustained high water and freeze/thaw cycles on the bay accelerated the erosion of the "barrier island" that (until very recently) seemed to provide real protection for the exterior dike. Ice came off the main bay just a few days ago -- probably once and for all for this season -- but the damage to the trees and shrubs that have been growing on the outer fringes for more than 25 years had already been done. Thank goodness we got that stone in place. The next few months of high water, which typically peak in early summer, are going to be interesting . . .

Modest waves are still relentless against what's left of our barrier island; the day the ice finally receded,
we could see that the damage had been done

Upturned root masses will not last long against high water and spring wave action; this portion of the barrier island would
have been two to three feet out of the water as recently as 2015 -- water levels are cyclical (and at times destructive)
on Lake Erie and the rest of the Great Lakes

West Marsh Stoning Project: By the Numbers

About 500 linear feet of the 1,250' just protected by last week's bay front stoning project; the work is now complete
and we hope that this will protect the West Marsh for the next 20-25 years

Before moving on to the next major priorities on the list, I thought it made sense to commemorate last week's efforts on the West Marsh with a project summary -- by the numbers:

Our operator was efficient and highly effective at
individually placing stone and "keying" the rock together
to increase its durability and resilience to wave action

* 1,250 linear feet of exterior dike protected;

* 738 tons of quarried limestone delivered/placed;

* 107 single-axle truckload deliveries; 

* 80 trucking man hours (approx);

* 25-30 excavator hours (still waiting on official total);

* 20 project oversight hours on-site (Roy);

* 14+ weeks of permitting applications;

* 3-4 trucks delivering, depending on day;

* 2.7 work days;

* 2 relieved Standing Rush staff members;

* 1 protected exterior dike (the only one on SR property).

The final number that is significant for this project is the total cost. We know it is going to be a significant 5-digit number (if not six digits). But we also know that (1) this was a must-do project, (2) we were very fortunate to be able to squeeze it in before spring storms and early summer peak water levels, (3) the work was done efficiently and done well, and (4) the completion of this project is a major victory for the long-term viability of the site. And after a day or two to catch our breath, we can begin focusing our attention on our next permit application and what will likely be the next major improvement project targeted for 2019 -- the rehabilitation of approximately 3,000-feet of our south dike on the West Marsh. This is going to be another doozy!

Single-axle trucks could only bring 5-9 tons per load, but short runs kept the excavator operator busy and kept
our existing earthen infrastructure from being damaged

A delivery truck returning (empty) to the highway from the project site for another load of quarry stone;
trucks used our "center dike" (which we completely rebuilt in 2016/2017) as our service road

Rising Water Levels Lead to Unexpected Expenses

If this image looks cold, it's because it is; this represents the first two of up to 140 truckloads of quarry limestone that are
currently being placed on our exterior (Sandusky Bay-facing) dike on our West Marsh

One recurring theme of this running narrative has been that water levels dictate about everything else when it comes to wetland management, particularly in coastal settings. There are daily reminders of this universal truth in our work, but the impact of changing hydrology is particularly poignant today, as Roy oversees the start of an unexpected bay front stoning project on our West Marsh.

I say "unexpected" in that this investment (expense) was not on the radar when we took possession of the property in 2014. In fact, it wasn't clear on the screen even in 2017. But several consecutive years of increased water levels in Lake Erie and one particularly nasty storm event has ultimately placed this project on the top of the priority list.

Static water levels in Sandusky Bay were a solid 18" higher when this photo was taken (July 2018) as compared to when we
started this project (February 2015); what was a "barrier island" a few years ago (formed during low water years of the late
1990s and 15 years of the 2000s) has evolved into a deteriorating string of fallen willows and cottonwood trees

Water levels on Lake Erie (and all the Great Lakes) tend to be cyclical. Locals speak in terms of "high water years" and "low water years" because they tend to be memorable extremes. But when looking at the data over the last hundred years, most of the time, the lakes reside somewhere in between.

A significant northeast storm pushing Sandusky Bay water over a 25+ acre
area that is typically all above the water line (March 2018);
the typical shore line is left of any whitecaps on this image

Anthropomorphic issues arise when water levels hit these historic highs and lows. And as it turns out, as a result of an extremely complex interaction of many environmental factors (e.g., regional and local precipitation, evaporation, air temperatures, wind, ice cover, impermeable surfaces, etc., etc.), we in the midst of a period of near historic high water.

I stumbled onto a decent article (access here) on the subject relating to Lake Erie in particular.

Changing water levels impact our daily routines differently depending on our interrelationship with the lake. But for Standing Rush, the continuous uptick in lake and bay water levels have meant vulnerabilities in areas of the property that haven't been vulnerable for nearly 25 years.

A comparison of our access to Sandusky Bay during calm conditions, left (July 2017) and during the major storm event that
caused the bulk of the damage to our exterior dike (March 2017)

Data from the USACE, released today. The red line reflects recorded water levels. Compare those levels with the 100-year average (in blue) and the projection for the balance of the year (in green), and the reason for concern (or at least vigilance)
increases. I added the yellow highlighting; if the upper end of the projected deviation proves true, we will be breaking
records set in 1986 -- probably the last time our exterior stone was fortified. Let's hope that doesn't happen.

Once we realized that the water level trends weren't tipping down but could, in fact, be continuing up, permitting with USACE and ODNR was the next step. Roy has been working his tail off for the last several months on this front to allow us to do this work. The government shutdown complicated things, causing us to miss a mid-winter weather window. [Proper weather conditions are crucial: sustained cold, so the dikes can be driven as hauling roads, without too much snow, so trucks can access and not slip off the dikes.] If we can't do it now, we wait until July (after another potentially destructive spring storm season).

We received the official green light last Friday, and the good Lord miraculously seems to be giving us another weather window of late-season cold. To make matters more interesting, all work must be suspended from March 15-June 30 (a restricted period for in-water work to protect fish, among other things). The bad news is, protecting up to 1,250 linear feet of exterior dike will cost us up to $100,000 or $80/linear foot (not including Standing Rush's time investment) depending on what we ultimately discover in the field (e.g., underwater conditions). The further bad news is, we did not have this project budgeted in our 3-year budget, and we have not been able to find funding support for the project (hard to get people excited about paying for rock!). The good news is, as of about an hour ago, we had the first 200 or so feet completed. It isn't fun, but we're protecting our assets.

ASIDE: While historic high water levels put stresses on anyone/anything on the lake shore, our biggest vulnerability comes if/when we have a strong NW or W wind following three or four days of sustained strong NE wind (a "Nor'easter"). Click here to see a short snippet of the destructive storm from March 2017. At 250-lbs+, I could barely stand up to film. Awesome power.