About one-third of the respondents used sump pumps as their only protection against having standing water in their basements. The vast sandy beach of Minnesota Point is not common. For traditional solutions to coastal erosion caused by wave action, refer to the references. The erosion protection information presented here is for sandy areas that are subject to wind erosion. This is a problem on the lake side of Minnesota Point.
Sand dunes act as buffers to erosion.
When the dunes are intact, they form a physical barrier, a dune line or dune field, which acts like a sea wall by providing protection from wind and waves. Breaks in the dune line expose low-lying back areas to potential damage from strong winds coming off Lake Superior. Shifts in dunes and breaks in dune line can occur in just a few hours. If a blow hole forms in a dune line, up to 3,000 cubic feet of sand can shift during a single storm. Vegetation can help prevent dune erosion.