Breakwall to be improved

Mark Ribble

Leamington Post

It appears that the government officials examining the Leamington breakwall are in agreement with local officials that something has to be done to help prevent another tragedy.

Leamington Mayor John Paterson and CAO Bill Marck met with officials from the Canadian Coast Guard, the Ministry of Transportation of Ontario and two federal agencies involving water safety and navigation on Friday in Chatham.

The Leamington contingent came away feeling good about the results.

“We were very impressed to see three different departments of the government willing to co-operate on such a level,” he said.

He added that there will be changes, and soon.

“It was a very well run meeting and we have come to the conclusion that there will be short term fixes and long term goals,” he said.

Short term, the MTO will work with the federal branches to install two items on the breakwall, which claimed the lives of three area residents in June.

Radar deflectors will be installed to help any boater with radar locate the breakwall.

“If they have radar, it will jump out at them on the screen,” said Paterson.

Secondly, they will design and install spotlights, shining down to illuminate the rocks.

The water safety branch of the federal government has also offered to do a boating safety review with boaters this fall. They will also attempt to establish a safety review next spring, prior to the boating season, with input from the Canadian and U.S. Coast Guards.

“These are all big steps and I couldn’t be more pleased,” said Paterson.

He credits MP Dave Van Kesteren with lighting the fire to this issue the day after the latest tragedy, but says the work is not finished.

“We have to carry the torch as a municipality,” he says.

Long term, the delegations discussed a plan that would see them repair and upgrade the breakwall, or completely remove it over time.

This process, cautions Paterson, will be a long one, because the amount of red tape involved.

“It will take quite some time for the long term stuff to happen,” said Paterson, citing co-operation from various levels of government and even the Walpole Island First Nations, who have a land claim on the lake bottom.

All told, it may take between three and five years for them to make a decision on the long-term goals.

The delegates will meet again in September to discuss progress.