Residents of Chatham-Kent are making it clear that shoreline erosion is an important issue to them.
Hundreds showed up to the Chatham-Kent Lake Erie Shoreline Study presentation in Erieau on Wednesday.
Experts in shoreline hazards, meteorology, climate change and coastal engineering design are undertaking the detailed two-phase study, which looks at the Lake Erie shoreline from Wheatley to Clear Creek and the impact that climate change is having on the shore.
Geoscientist and consultant Peter Zuzek spoke to the crowd to give an update on the study, which he said was the first time a study of this kind of magnitude has been done on the Great Lakes.
The study focuses heavily on how climate change is impacting storms which then impacts shorelines. During a presentation to council in January, Zuzek estimated that if nothing is done to stop the natural forces currently underway, the shoreline will decrease by 60 metres in the next 50 years and another 60 metres by the year 2118, essentially wiping out parts of Talbot Trail.
He added that average winter temperatures by the end of the century in Canada are predicted to be around eight degrees higher. He said warmer winters and less ice coverage is one of the biggest threats to the Lake Erie shoreline in the future.
Resident looks at image of the Lake Erie shoreline from space (Photo by Allanah Wills)
"I can tell you that it's one of the most dramatic changes that we've ever seen in the Great Lakes with respect to the hazards and the risks that we face along our community," explained Zuzek "We're going to go from a wintertime where we have a complete ice cover on the lake... to where the lake can be completely ice-free all winter. So those storm events that bring snow and hails and winds are also going to generate the erosive waves that cause damages in the spring and the fall."
Many residents in attendance said they've already seen the dramatic changes in the shoreline, including long-time resident Diane Fluke.
"I have seen it completely," Fluke said. "We are on the lakeside and our beach is going out further and further each year... It's a desperate situation for most people. I also notice that there is a lot of water coming over in the winter because we don't have the ice cover anymore and it's almost broken through at the entrance to Erieau. We could end up as an island."
The issue of shoreline erosion has also turned into a physical nuisance for some. Last April resident Doug Carol, who has owned his cottage for 25 years, had to repair the cottage's block wall after a severe storm swept it away.
"The south-west storm came in there and washed out the whole foundation, the footing and everything halfway through the cottage. I had to fix it. We had to lay in the water with weighters on and repair it all. We had to dive in big pipes int he ground 15 feet down and put a 12-inch beam from pipe to pipe," Carol said.
Another study meeting in June will focus more on what areas of the shorelines are most vulnerable when it comes to climate change and shoreline erosion, followed by a meeting in September that will present residents with ideas and alternative solutions for how to ease the effects of erosion.
"One of our goals with this study is to give the community, give the municipality and give the conservation authority, the technical information to plan for the future, to plan for the changes that are coming because of climate change and develop a more resilient coastal community," said Zuzek.
Overall many people praised how informative the presentation was but it might be some time before they can put aside their worries of what's to come.
"It's depressing because what I learned at this meeting is we're going to have to spend a lot of money to mitigate climate change," said Fluke. "It seems like we're fighting mother nature and who ever wins that argument?"