Lake Erie residents see flood protection options

CHATHAM Some of the options are drastic. Many are expensive.

And it’s still to be determined where exactly the money will come from.

However, due to increased flooding and erosion — especially this past year — the status quo is no longer an option for Lake Erie’s beleaguered shoreline, residents heard on Tuesday.

Another round of community consultations for the Chatham-kent Lake Erie shoreline study took place at the Links of Kent Golf Club in Chatham.

The study team provided an update and presented draft adaptation concepts for the high bluff areas; Erie Beach, Erie Shore Drive and diked farmland; the floodprone communities around Rondeau Bay; and the federal navigation channel and Rondeau barrier beach.

“These are not one- or two-year solutions. These are long-term solutions,” said consultant Pete Zuzek.

Slides were shown with different options for the various areas. Some solutions were specific, while others were more general in nature.

Citing one example on the highcost end, Zuzek said protecting the Talbot Trail shoreline for 40 kilometres with armour stone could cost anywhere between $600 million to $900 million, plus maintenance.

Realigning that roadway could cost between $31 million and $40 million. Relocating the buildings would be $37 million to $68 million.

Armour stone protection for Erie Shore Drive, for a distance of 3.35 kilometres, would be between $47 million and $70 million.

Armour stone plus property buyouts would be between $71 million and $94 million.

Property buyouts, decommissioning the road and re-naturalizing the farmland is pegged at $67 million to $88 million.

For Erieau Road, armour stones and raising the road would cost between $4.1 million to $5.9 million for 425 metres.

Along Rose Beach Line, armour stones for two kilometres and slope regrading would be $16.9 million to $25.4 million. Decommissioning that road and upgrading area access roads, including New Scotland Line, Mckinlay Road and Antrim Road, would be between $10 million and $13 million.

Zuzek stressed these were simply ideas and that no decisions have been made.

The costs are also approximate, due to contingencies and upkeep of the structures.

“We’re at concepts, not final engineering drawings,” he said. “There’s no funding for these ideas yet.”

He said conversations with senior levels of government are ongoing.

Zuzek called community input crucial, noting there are tradeoffs associated with the differing options, including durability, affordability and benefits to the ecosystem.

The shoreline study, slated for completion in March, is co-funded by Natural Resources Canada’s Climate Change Adaptation Platform, the Municipality of Chatham-kent, and the Lower Thames Valley Conservation Area, with Zuzek Inc. and other partners conducting the technical work.

This includes identifying shoreline hazards, meteorology, climate-change impact, coastal engineering design, and adaptation planning for the shoreline from Wheatley to Clear Creek, which is the lake boundary for Chatham-kent.

Following Tuesday’s presentation and question period, community members took part in breakout sessions to discuss the concepts by geographic region.

Terra Cadeau, who owns a property on Erie Shore Drive, said the options for her area were “extremely expensive” and that she needs more information.

“I’d like an opportunity to actually look at them more fully and really understand the options.”

Erie Shore Drive, which experiences high wind and wave warnings on a regular basis, was hit particularly hard in August, when the municipality issued a localized state of emergency after severe flooding.

Cadeau, who is also with Erie Shore Drive Property Owners Association, said the expected storms this season are only adding to the worries.

“It’s been a really trying time,” she said. “As the fall hits, the storms are greater. Certainly November’s been pretty rough.”

For more information on the shoreline study, visit letstalkchatham-kent.ca