Shoreline repairs at Sunset Point are nearing completion, with town officials erring on the side of caution when it comes to preparing for future storm scenarios at the site.
During Monday’s corporate and community services committee meeting, councillors received an update on major town parks, recreation and culture projects leading into the end of the council term. Included in that update was information on the status of shoreline repairs at Sunset Point.
“I’m positive that anybody that’s been anywhere in the vicinity of Sunset Point will have seen the massive amount of shoreline repairs that are underway,” Director of Parks, Recreation and Culture Dean Collver told councillors, noting the town had put forward a request to receive approval for an extension to the season of in-water work in order to get the repairs done.
“We’re moving forward with as-soon-as-possible completion,” he said.
Collver noted that the town had received some feedback from the public that the top of the new retaining wall is high.
“When the water was very high and storms were taking away large swaths of property, we would have loved to have these revetments in place to protect the land,” he said. “We felt we needed to build to that potential. Engineering is responding to that future high-water mark in the hope that we don’t have to go through this type of remediation again.”
“We wanted to make sure this project wouldn’t have to be repeated in the very near future, and hopefully not ever,” said Collver.
Damage to the Sunset Point shoreline dates back more than four years, when the town started demarcating areas of concern with pylons and barricades in December 2018.
At that time, Collver said the erosion along Collingwood’s nearly 50 kilometres of shoreline had escalated with the rising water levels in Georgian Bay.
In October 2019, multiple weather events washed away significant portions of the shoreline, including portions of the base of the Inuksuk. In November of 2019, Collver estimated it would cost about $300,000 to put protections in place to prevent further loss of property, and told council the town did not qualify for the Municipal Disaster Assistance Program to help pay to repair the damage.
As part of the presentation on Monday, Collver noted that no water access points had been removed as part of the work.
Collver also noted what's called a "large woody debris" treatment along the shoreline west of where the current work is taking place.
“We still believe we are the only test site for this kind of treatment on the Great Lakes and there is a lot of interest in it. We’re hoping for a good outcome and so far, so good,” said Collver.
The process involves adding logs or driftwood larger than 0.3 metres in diameter and two metres in length to the shore as a natural protectant for the shore. While the town was considering the treatment, which was assisted by the Environment Network, Tatham Engineering and the Saugeen Ojibway Nation and a provincial grant for $49,520, they consulted with the Saugeen Ojibway Nation (SON) Environment Office. The advice from the SON was to take the most naturalized approach possible.
The town used cedar trees that were removed for water, wastewater, and hydro servicing for the new washroom near the Rotary Pavilion to reinforce the western shoreline.
According to a report from Collver to council last year, the large woody debris treatment can be beneficial to the shoreline, not just to stabilize the shore, but to enhance the ecological value and allow for an increase in diversity of species and shoreline vegetation.
Parks Manager Wendy Martin confirmed the treatment is holding in place and no further erosion has occurred since it was installed in 2021.
With files from Erika Engel.
