Peche Island to get $2M for breakwaters to combat erosion
Plans currently in the works to combat erosion on Peche Island will lead to one of the largest investments in a habitat project in recent history for the Essex Region Conservation Authority.
As directed by the habitat work group of the Detroit River Canadian Cleanup, ERCA will manage a $2-million project to create a series of offshore breakwaters in the Detroit River along the island’s north. The breakwater would be constructed as a series of long, narrow islands that protrude slightly above water and shelter Peche Island from boat wakes.
“As a standalone habitat project, as long as I’ve been here, it’s been the single-biggest habitat project,” ERCA’S director of conservation services, Kevin Money, told ERCA board members Thursday.
Sheltering islands will provide fish with calm waters in which to rest and feed, according to a report presented by Money. Sand and cobblestone placed around the breakwaters will serve as living space for aquatic invertebrates that fish eat, as well as for nesting and feeding by great blue herons and black-crowned night herons. The beaches of Peche Island have, in the past, also been nesting areas for spiny soft-shell turtles.
Upstream waters newly calmed by the project would create additional spawning and nursing areas for fish.
“The current water levels aren’t going to have an impact on the project because most of the work is underwater to begin with,” Money said. The City of Windsor on Monday suspended indefinitely the municipal boat tours to Peche Island scheduled to begin this week — record-high water levels have flooded the island’s trails.
About a year and a half ago, ERCA secured $225,000 through an organization called the Swim Drink Fish Foundation to support ecological improvements on the Detroit River. The City of Windsor this year committed $2.5 million toward improvements on the cityowned island, including erosion prevention measures.
The biggest concern for the project, Money said, is obtaining all of the required permits associated with the project in a timely manner. Permits from the federal and provincial governments require public consultations before they can be approved, he said. The soonest the project can receive the green light is September of this year.
“They’re very supportive of the project, but it’s a process that needs to be gone through,” Money said regarding the federal permitting body Fisheries and Oceans Canada.
Once the project is approved, it’s up to the chosen contractor to determine how quickly it gets done, Money said, but an ERCA engineer estimated it would take between one and two months.