Councillor motion seeks senior government support to address Rondeau beach erosion

A South Kent councilor hopes an upcoming motion will help senior governments see the importance of addressing erosion at the Rondeau barrier beach.

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In his motion, slated to come forward Monday, Coun. Anthony Ceccacci noted the barrier beach protects significant hectares of farmland, residential and commercial development, as well as marine habitat and recreational amenities.

He’s asking that council support drafting a letter, signed as a resolution on behalf of council and the mayor, with the assistance of the Lower Thames Valley Conservation Authority.

This would be sent to the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, small-craft harbor program, Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks, Parks Canada, and ministries of the environment for the provincial and federal governments, advocating for remediation and resolution of the matter .

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“Basically the community has reached out,” Ceccacci told The Daily News Thursday. “This has the ability to significantly impact many settling areas in South Kent … all those communities that are on the water.”

He said concerns have been identified by multiple reports, including the conservation authority report and the Zuzek shoreline study.

The shoreline study noted the barrier beach east of the navigation channel had receded 650 meters since 1868, while more than 160 hectares of coastal wetlands have disappeared in Rondeau Bay since 1955 due to this erosion.

According to an administrative explainer in the motion, Rondeau Bay barrier beach is within the provincial park and the coastal erosion issues are under the jurisdiction of the provincial and federal governments.

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“It is recommended the provincial and federal government take the lead on an erosion protection strategy, working in collaboration with the local conservation authority and the municipality as stakeholders,” it stated. “The responsibility for design and mitigation of the barrier beach breach is not under municipal jurisdiction.”

Ceccacci credited Chatham-Kent staff for their diligence on the issue, but said help is needed to mitigate the problem.

“Now that the water (level) is down, you’re not going to have as significant impacts,” he said. “But we all know those waters work in cycles … (This) is trying to just be proactive.

“I just think anything that we can do to keep this at least on the radar is important.”

He couldn’t speculate on the cost of any potential fix, given it’s uncertain what the preferred method would even be.

The possible impact to natural habitat and species at risk also must be kept in mind, he added.

“There’s so much they have to take into consideration,” he said.

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