Public Notice

 

December 1, 2020 – Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Real Property Central and Prairie Region, Engineering and Technical Support must determine whether the proposed Port Weller Water Level Gauge Station Shoreline Reinforcement Project, located in St. Catharines, Ontario is likely to cause significant adverse environmental effects.

To help inform this determination, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Real Property Central and Prairie Region, Engineering and Technical Support is inviting comments from the public respecting that determination. All comments received will be considered public and may be posted online. For more information, individuals should consult the Privacy Notice on the Registry website.

 

Written comments must be submitted by December 30, 2020 to:

Jason Boland

Senior Engineering Technician, Engineering and Technical Support

520 Exmouth Street

Sarnia, Ontario

N7T 8B1

Telephone:         226-402-2846

Email:                 Jason.Boland@dfo-mpo.gc.ca

 

The Proposed Project

Fisheries and Oceans Canada owns a water level gauging station in Port Weller, Ontario that is used for measuring water levels in Lake Ontario for use in navigation safety, cargo loading and unloading, monitoring, forecasting, and regulation. Operated  by Canadian Hydrographic Services, the Port Weller Gauge Station is located immediately west of the Canadian Coast Guard's Port Weller Search and Rescue Station on the west side of the west breakwater at the northern terminus of the Welland Canal. Approximate GPS coordinates are 43°14'12.21" North, 79°13'10.68" West.

Severe shoreline erosion poses a hazard to the existing Port Weller Gauge Station. Recession of the shoreline was relatively slow between 1954 and 2000 with recession rates between 0.01 to 0.04 metres per year. The rate of recession has increased since the year 2000. Recession rates immediately to the north of the gauge station were as high as 0.52 metres per year between 2006 and 2017. Recession was as high as 1.7 metres between 2017 and 2018 likely due to the record high lake levels in 2017.

Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Real Property Central and Prairie Region, Engineering and Technical Support is proposing to undertake a restoration and armouring treatment of the shoreline that will span approximately 70 metres. Shoreline repair will consist of an armourstone revetment at a grade of 2 Horizontal : 1 Vertical. The double layer revetment will be bedded on a 0.6 metre thick layer of 300 to 600 millimetre stone overtop of a non-woven geotextile fabric. The first layer of armourstone revetment will consist of 2 to 4 tonne armour stone, while the second top layer will consist of 3 to 5 tonne armour stone. This treatment will provide long term stability for the Port Weller Gauge Station and other vulnerable features of the Canadian Coast Guard Search and Rescue Station property.

As part of this project, the water intake pipe for the Port Weller Gauge Station may be replaced depending on its condition and any damage sustained during construction.

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