According to this Chicago Tribune article on the deadly seiche of 1954, Lake Michigan has a major seiche about once every decade, often affecting widely separated beaches.  The west end of Ludington Avenue roadway still has an inch or so thick layer of sand on it, and while the sand dune between that and the breakwall acted as a great containment for that tract, one can only imagine what kind of damage it would have done to a walkway paralleling the shoreline as proposed, the canoe launch and concessions, and the other landscaping choices that are scheduled to be made soon with the DNR Trust Fund credits. 

Much of the rental shack to the north of the dune was underwater for a time, there may be significant damage to the structure and the contents within.

That is why a breakwall must be installed. The Council knows this and they are hiding the truth. My guess is they have it all planned and will use such an incidence as the seiche to remove the beach and construct the barrier while using the excuse that their investement must be protected. It's coming folks. They are planning on eliminating the Ludington Ave beach.

According to We-are-Green-Bay.com the ferry docks over in Manitowoc received significant damage over the weekend.  This will likely be attacked with some of those millions in state and federal grants that Lake Michigan Carferry just received.

The elimination of the beach between the existing breakwall and Ludington Avenue was always part of the plan.  If the elite folks of Ludington are setting up their pavilions at the end of the existing street, they don't want a lot of commoner locals walking through to get to the beach they often use.