Cleveland Harbor, Ohio. Section 3. Study. Termination Report.

The purpose of this investigation is to determine whether the Federal navigation project at Cleveland Harbor has caused, or substantially increased the erosion of the shore andor beaches east and west of the harbor, and if so, to determine what measures are justified to mitigate the induced damages. An extensive area from the Cuyahoga-Lake County line on the east to the Rocky River on the west was investigated to determine the effects of the Cleveland Harbor structures and maintenance dredging program on the shoreline. Long-term erosion rates were developed and compared for each of 14 reaches within the study area. From this analysis, it was determined that the only identifiable impacted areas due to the harbor project were those immediately adjacent to the harbor area Bratenahl and Perkins Beach. The Bratenahl shoreline to the east and the Perkins Beach area on the west have been negatively affected due to denial of sand-sized material from the littoral system as a result of maintenance dredging in the Cuyahoga River. Plans for mitigating these damages were also developed and evaluated. From this evaluation, two plans were selected from implementation Plans IIA and IIB. These plans provide for disposal of suitable, sand-sized material dredged from the Cuyahoga River in offshore areas opposite Bratenahl and Perkins Beach, respectively. The dredged material would then enter the littoral system in sufficient quantity to totally mitigate the Federally induced damages to the shoreline. Author