Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, members of the committee and, specifically, MP Chris Lewis of the Essex riding, for allowing me to speak with you on the subject of erosion in our area, both from a shipping perspective and from a natural process perspective.
As an agency responsible for the protection of life and property on behalf of local municipalities and the Province of Ontario, our team is constantly faced with the challenges of both flooding and erosion, as our area is bounded by Lake St. Clair, the Detroit River and the western basin of Lake Erie.
Specific to the topic of shipping and the impacts on shoreline erosion, the impacts differ as a result of the location of the shipping passageway. With the canal being situated in more of a central location within the western basin of Lake Erie, wake-driven erosion is of little consequence to the mainland because of the distance between the vessels and the shoreline itself. Impacts would be more pronounced in the Detroit River, which is much narrower, with the proximity of the canal much closer to the shoreline and the islands in the area. However, even in this situation, the wakes caused by the large shipping vessels are generally less of a concern than those caused by the smaller pleasure craft that operate much closer to the shoreline and are higher in number.
Notwithstanding that, the impacts that occur from larger shipping vessels are rare, but they have consequences, such as impacts to personal property, specifically docks and breakwalls. In these rare occurrences, the impacts are a bit more dramatic, typically because of the state of the infrastructure at the time of the occurrence. Oftentimes, it's because the infrastructure is in a state of disrepair. Therefore, the energy required to initiate full failure is much less than for structures that are properly maintained.
Regardless of this, the effects of any such vessel pale in comparison to the impacts caused by natural processes such as wind-driven waves, which have been causing significant impacts on the safety of local communities and public infrastructure like roads, sewers and water mains. Strong winds across large open bodies of water affect the wave climate and cause erosion along the islands and mainland shoreline. In some cases, the damage caused is irreparable. Chatham-Kent experienced erosive forces so severe that they caused road closures and permanent road relocations, which affected emergency first response capabilities and the lives of those living in the nearby communities.
Further west, the Hillman Marsh barrier beach in Leamington is now gone, due to high lake levels and strong winds, leaving the interior diking system in this area exposed to potential wave impacts it's not designed for. These dikes protect large inland farming operations and properties from being inundated by Lake Erie. Without them, prime agricultural land would be lost, leaving a large area a permanent piece of Lake Erie.
Further west into the Essex region, I have personally coordinated with engineering and public works departments to quickly install shoreline protection to protect various segments of both upper-tier and lower-tier municipal roadways in such areas as Leamington, Kingsville and Amherstburg. These were all reactive measures to combat, again, the forces of nature.
There's a need to evaluate these effects further to understand any mitigating approaches. We have learned that standardized approaches, such as breakwall structures, may only temporarily slow down erosion, but the continued lake-bed erosion and downcutting in the areas lakeward from these structures are deepening and increasing the likelihood of failure.
In essence, the very structures required to protect homeowners from the loss of their land are inadvertently exacerbating the issue, leaving homeowners at risk of the substantial costs of ongoing costly maintenance and repairs.
In some areas, landward migration of the lake can be as high as four feet per year on average. As we deal with many unknowns about our climate and the associated variabilities, such as record high lake levels and reduced ice cover on the western basin of Lake Erie, the winter season has become a significant factor in annual erosion rates. With reduced ice cover and prolonged elevated lake levels from 2015 to the present time, some areas have experienced erosion rates double those from historic studies, which can date as far back as 1976 in our area and are limited by the available information and technology of the time.
We're challenged with understanding and predicting these impacts. To do so, there's a need for sufficient studies and funding to come up with a plan for mitigating measures. The federal government took a great step forward with the recent budget, having allocated nearly $64 million toward flood-related studies, much of which has been funnelled through the current flood hazard identification and mapping program.
As evidenced through these examples, our region is facing flood risks that can be a direct result of shoreline erosion. Therefore, flooding and erosion are not, in our case, mutually exclusive. I would urge consideration of funds toward these issues, coupled with the well-intentioned flood hazard identification and mapping program that is specific to flood-related undertakings. These combined effects need to be better understood to ensure that communities are safe from these threats.
With that, I'd like to thank the committee for allowing me to speak. I'd be happy to answer any questions the committee members might have to the best of my ability.
Thank you.