What is Rock Revetment?

Rock revetments, when properly installed, offer great protection in high energy situations with big waves.

Advantages

Larger cover stone resist movement while absorbing and dissipating wave energy.
Somewhat impervious to ice damage.
Ideal for commercial heavily constructed shore side and waterside protruding maritime structures such as piers and harbors subject to heavy weather and the resulting waves.

Disadvantages of rock revetments

Proper toe installation requires progressive linear excavation and materials installation in typically 3’ to 4’ of water with varying wave heights which is time consuming.
The varying and progressive stone sizes required for installation requires expensive transportation to the lakefront, typically dune, installation site either via a barge, down the beach, or from the client’s property which often requires the construction of a travel road inducing further drastic wind-blown erosion.
No consistent materiel’s requirements by the permitting authorities allow the installation of substandard materiel’s that quickly deteriorate and dissolve under wave action.
No permit requirement by any permitting agency for verification of the size or quantity of materiel’s being installed, such as weigh slips or other quantity verification methods.
No permit requirements for any verification of the construction process such as pictures or inspections.
Improperly installed large rocks typically sink due to wave action and need more rocks installed until the sinking rock pile is supported by underlying clay layers.
Various lake shore residents have advised that many less then desirable flora and fauna have caused further erosion and a disagreeable rotting odor.
A pile of large rocks on a sand dune is not consistent with that historical environment permanently changing and damaging that unique habitat and fairly expensive to remove or mitigate.
A pile of large rocks is not conducive to humans, especially children, ability to travel to the water and beach, greatly reducing the value and utility of the property.

We quoted several rock revetments during the recent Great Lakes high water event although were not competitive with the majority of contractors doing such work and were not comfortable with participating in the multi billion-dollar fraud being facilitated by the permitting authorities. A typical installation required permit drawings, see below, showing a toe installation that would force the surface wave energy to discharged against the larger top rocks, after overrunning the toe installation, calling for 10 to 12 ton of rocks per linear foot. The issued permits were actually the most that could be installed with no minimum requirements, so technically one rock placed on the beach would qualify as a installed permitted revetment. Installing half the tonnage without the toe structure was entirely legal, which represented about a $60K contractor material savings, although often washed out in the first heavy storm without the toe structure installed. Some contractors did return and dump more rock on top of the sinking rock until the pile settled on clay and stayed somewhat serving the original intent. Contractors Marine was not comfortable transferring mostly retired grandparent’s savings to us for dumping half the permitted amount of rocks on the beach without following the construction drawings, why even require drawings to be submitted if there are no requirements to follow them? One contractor actually quoted a rock materials cost that was twice what he actually payed for the rock delivered and then showed a comparatively low installation cost to show how little money he was making, while taking a $60K rock markup.

To arrive at what we felt was a ethical solution we spent extensive time and money developing and patenting a solution that can be seen at www.ShoreSavers.com that we felt would perform the same erosion control functions of a properly installed rock revetment with extensive client accountability and many environmental and remediation advantages. Unfortunately after several months of runaround and communications Michigan’s EGLE determined that the Shore Savers modules, consisting primarily of cured cement, would exceed the Federal requirements for parts per million of pollutants discharged under a EPA regulation addressing power plant and municipal sewage treatment discharges that they were responsible for administering, while issuing several permits for a product called trap bags that were installed on the beach and directly filled with wet cement displacing the Lake Michigan water in them.

Obviously the market demand for residential rock revetments and potentially ShoreSavers has significantly declined due to the waters levels in the Great Lakes.

If you have the need for a rock revetment installation, repair, or removal to restore your waterfront property or a use for ShoreSavers in another state we would enjoy reviewing your project and quoting or consulting on your project.

Your Trusted Partner for Shoreline Stability

Contractors Marine is dedicated to delivering exceptional results, ensuring your rock revetment is constructed with the highest standards of quality and integrity. We help you make a wise, long-term investment in your property’s future.

Contact us today for a site evaluation and to discuss your rock revetment project in Michigan or the surrounding Great Lakes states! Let us handle the permits and complexities so you can protect and enjoy your waterfront property with confidence.