Clarissa Kell | Daily Press Standing water pools due to high water levels are shown at the Gladstone beach recently. The high water levels have caused issues along the recreational shoreline of Gladstone but have not deterred people from enjoying the beach.

GLADSTONE — The record high water levels in Lake Michigan has had a huge impact on Gladstone’s recreational shoreline.

Gladstone Parks and Recreation Department Director Nicole Sanderson said there are problems from the boardwalk near the campground to the beach itself. She added, despite the issues caused by the high water, it hasn’t deterred people from enjoying the recreational space in Gladstone.

The high water has encroached on the boardwalks, the campground and the beach.

Sanderson explained the boardwalks and asphalt path near the campground are in danger of being washed out, five sites at the campground are flooded, around 17 mature trees have died and more are dying near the shoreline, the staff is unable to clear debris often so there is more along the shoreline. The water levels change the layout of the beach almost every day.

As of Wednesday, the boardwalk was closed off as the water caused the wood to become too hazardous for public use.

Sanderson said the flooding on the beach has caused pools of water to form and limit dry sand.

“As far as the beach goes, we still have a beach. People are still really going down to the beach — it’s heavily used. Although we have water right up to the parking lot most days,” she said.

She explained workers are constantly rearranging the beach because the water levels change every day. A slde at the beach has been removed for repairs and portion of the boardwalk closed.

“It’s difficult to place the things we place in the water because the water levels are changing so drastically every day,” Sanderson said. “So, we have a slide and we also have a lifeguard chair and it’s difficult because sometimes they’re underwater and sometimes they’re not.”

The flooding has become a financial burden for the parks and recreation department and may continue to be more of a problem if the water does not recede.

“The boardwalk part, the boards itself, was a grant we wrote probably 17 years ago and at that time it cost $300,000. And then there was another grant for $250,000 to do the asphalt portion. Both of those are in danger of being washed out right now,” Sanderson said.

She said the replacement costs would be be around 25 percent higher than the initial cost.

“If it gets washed out, I don’t know what I’m going to do,” she said.

When it comes to fighting the high water levels, Sanderson said she has been asked a lot lately about bringing in more sand.

“I have had a lot of people ask me if I can bring in sand to the beach or move sand or do something. I just — I can’t because it’ll just get washed out. That would be a waste of money,” she said.

To fight the flooding, the parks and recreation department has allowed sand to be pushed by the water over the asphalt pathway in hopes it won’t wash away, built wooden boardwalk sections in order to be able to use the gas pumps at the harbor and the transit dockage, and moved rock from the bay to more inland positions.

Sanderson said another thing they’re looking to do is filling in the pockets of water along the beach. She explained with the warmer weather, they’ll be able to push the sand around to move the water so it does not become stagnant.

“When the water comes in, it creates a hump of sand and then underneath here is low so what we’ll have to do is we’ll have to take that berm and fill it all in and then hopefully it’ll drain out. It’ll build right back up again because of the way the water is but we will have to do that or … (the standing water) will become a breeding ground for mosquitos,” Sanderson said.

Everything occurring right now has cost the department money, however it could be even more devastating if the water does not recede.

“This is crazy … If it doesn’t go down at least four inches I don’t know what I’ll do in the winter months because all that will freeze,” Sanderson said. “It’ll end up destroying the sidewalks, the harbor wall, (and) definitely the boardwalk. So I’m really hoping by winter it’s subsided a little bit.”