Goderich Mayor Myles Murdock says the town is looking at the cost and the feasibility of hardening the bluffs along part of the shoreline.
“We approved a phase one study being done just to see whether or not it's possible. But you're looking at hardening the toe of the bluff from the Cove down to Dechert Road roughly,” said Murdock. He estimates that's probably over a mile of shoreline.
Murdock says something has to be done if they don't want to lose part of the shoreline and he says hardening the bluffs at the bottom would at least slow the erosion there.
“It's a question of how long it would last, but one thing we do know is if we don't harden, and if the water levels do go up and given the conditions that we've had climatically, what could happen is you could end up losing a good portion of the bluff,” he added.
Murdock says they would like to keep the land at the top of the bluff. There are current discussions about creating a walking trail there as it provides a great view of the lake.
Murdock says they're looking at options, including planting trees, to stabilize the top of the bank, but haven't decided on anything yet.