Park District Of Highland Park Seeking Permit To Address 'Sand Emergency' At Rosewood Beach
HIGHLAND PARK, Ill. (CBS) -- It's being called a sand emergency. Record high levels and erosion have taken a toll on a popular beach in Highland Park.
CBS 2's Tara Molina has learned plans are in the works to spend a pretty penny to fix it.
Erosion at Rosewood Beach can easily be seen.
"It's beautiful. It's a beautiful beach," said Highland Park resident Ryan Eagle.
Eagle and his family are some of the many regulars at the popular beach.
But it's not just the beautiful lakefront they've noticed lately. It's the lack of it.
"The whole beach is, it's fallen down," Eagle said. "It's nonexistent. It's gone. It's just straight to the water."
Like so many others in the Chicago area, parts of the beach are shrinking -- eroding -- dramatically.
But what's different?
The Park District of Highland Park is sounding the alarm.
"We're looking to expedite the permitting process," said Rebecca Grill, natural areas manager with the park district.
They're seeking emergency approval from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to add thousands of cubic feet of sand and protect the beach.
"Thissand that we're proposing to apply, it's called birdseye. It's a larger grain, a little bit heavier," Grill said.
She said it will cost about $190,000 to buy, transport, and spread the sand, and the money will come out of their capital fund.
"The $190,000 will cover the sand and the plan that we've laid out for this cove and the cove behind me," said said.
The goal is to get the project approved and completed before winter and storms that will only make the issue worse.
"I'd like them to preserve it," Eagle said. "My daughter comes here. She was begging to come to the beach. I'd like it to be here."
A spokesperson for the Army Corps of Engineers said they are reviewing the permit for the project right now.
