[jws]

I'm not sure "bad" is required.

As a person responsible for maintaining a harbor in Lake Michigan, I am allowed to move 1 cubic yard of material a year, by hand, with a shovel (last time I checked, the rules change). Anything else requires a detailed permitting process with lots of limitations on what is even possible.

You are looking at a body of rules built up to prevent draining large wetlands without permission, destroying your neighbors waterfront, dredging huge plumes of PCB contaminated sediment into the active water zones, wiping out a regional spawning bed, or casting an intermittent shadow on a patch of lake bed of the great state of redacted. This is administered by a staff who will be held accountable for unforeseen damage and has limited resources.

So you do the paperwork, wait for your permits, only work during the weeks of the year when work is allowed, and try to generally make do with less than you wanted.

[roamerz]

> As a person responsible for maintaining a harbor in Lake Michigan, I am allowed to move 1 cubic yard of material a year, by hand, with a shovel

looking at the picture he could have made a smaller channel moving the legal limit letting the water enlarge it over time.

[lazide]

A cubic yard is 7-8 small wheelbarrows worth of material.

It’s nearly impossible to accomplish anything significant by moving a cubic yard of anything. Except gold bullion or Plutonium.

Even diverting a small stream for awhile would require very thoughtful application of something pretty durable (concrete?).

Not impossible, but very improbable.

Which is probably why they set such a small limit. That’s literally ‘dude with a shovel and an hour’ territory.

[themadturk]

Yes, but was the fellow considered a harbor maintainer? I don't know what this constitutes, but there's nothing in the story to indicate he had any such designation.

[seadan83]

Seemingly, a dam was built, the diverted water created the channel.