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HomeMy WebLinkAboutLakeshore Advance, 2012-01-18, Page 16 Lakeshore Advahce • Wednesday, January 19; 2011 Puboc mooting to discuss Port Franks flooding January 29 Lynda Hilknan-Rapley Lakeshore Advance A public meeting later this month will help Port Franks people with their continued flooding issues. Rob Kraft came to council last week stating the flooding is getting worse every year. He says some- thing has to be done to eliviate this ongoing prob- lem. Council suggested a public meeting and Tom Prout, manager of Ausable Bayfield Conser-vation Authority (ABCA) said they would participate. The ABCA has conducted several hydraulic studies of the Lower Ausable River in the past to identify critical ice jam formation areas and rec- ommend measures to miiinmize flooding hazards to prop-erties along the river. And then they updated these studies, covering a 9.2 km (5.7 mi) reach that was originally chan- nelized for drainage purposes over 130 years ago. The objective of the study was to identify river sec- tions most susceptible to the formation of ice jams through hydraulic modeling, and to recommend a set of mitigative measures that address the result- ant flooding. Key project challenges have included the economy of data collection methodologies (e.g., the use of digital bathymetric soundings and land terrain models, aug-rented with new GPS survey) as well as addressing new environmental permitting requirements. Although there have been many studies done over the years- the cost of implementation is always the catalist that stops it. Since Port Franks is a tourist destination- a transportation link, of Lambton Shores LIVING IN LAMBTON SHORES... A weekly Update on the Municipal Events in your Community Administration Department - 7889 Amtelecom Parkway, P.O. Box 610, Forest, Ontario NON 1J0 Tel: 1-877-786-2335, 519-786-2335, Fax: 519-786-2135, Email: administration(:'lambtonshores.ca Visit our Web Site at www.lambtonshores.ca TOWN HALL MEETING Discussion — Pt. Franks Ice Management Issue Date: Saturday, January 29th Time: 10:00 am till noon Location: Pt. Franks Community Centre — Main Hall Purpose: In response to community concerns about the most recent ice jam in Pt. Franks, Council has asked representatives of the Ausable Bayfield Conservation Authority to brief residents and property owners on the "Ice Management" done in 2008, recent studies and possible solutions or responses. The meeting Is also being called to allow attendees the opportunity to express their concerns, provide input on how the problem might be addressed and to let Council know the Impact these Ice jams are having on them. Council is concerned and wants to hear from you on how it can help, what property owners themselves can do and how the Ausable Bayfield Conservation Authority might be able to assist. Planning The Lambton Shores Council will be considering the following matters at the January 24, 2011 meeting: 7:10 pm Application for Draft Plan of Subdivision Approval - File No. $D2001.4 a Zoning Sy4ew Amendment Application Z0-21/2008 Location: End of MacNab Street, Forest Applicant Wellington Bros of Forest Constnrction Ltd. The appltoant Is are requesting approval of a ()ref! Plan of Subdivision (SD2006-4), on lands located west of McNabb Street in Forest oonststing of 122 single detached dwelling lob, 24 freehold multiple attached dwellings (street townhouses) & a storm - miter management facility. They are also requesting an amendment to the Zoning By-law to allow development as proposed by the draft plan of subdivision. 7:10 pm Official Plan Amendment Application oP-01/2011 a Zoning ay -law Amendment Application 10-01.2011 Location: 9123 Gordon Road Applicant: Kevin Rombouts The applications are being proposed In order to allow the existing farm dwelling & accessory buildings to be severed from the farm parcel and sold as a non-farm dwelling. The proposed severed dwelling Is excess to the owners needs as he resides on another farm. Commit!** of Adjustment ... The Lambton Shores Committee of Adjustment will be considering the following matters at the Thursday, January 27, 2011, meeting. 7:06 p.m. - Carlo Cimetta, Agent for Lawrance a Merle Swart - 1-02/2011 Consent - 5497 Huronview Avenue The applicant Is requesting permission to sever a 1 acre residential lot which will have a lot frontage of 48 7 metres onto Huronvlew Avenue and will be occupied by the existing dwelling 7:05 p.m. - Walden a Walden, Agent for Mark a Lisa Slaetlaansen -141/2011 Consent - 6494 Proof Line The applicant la requesting permission to sever a 2 acre paroel of land that will have a frontage of 58 metres and a depth of 140 metres. Thls severance will allow the creation of a new non-farm dwelling lot for the existing dwelling, which Is surplus to the applicant's fanning operation u the result of a farm consolidation. Full poples of the notloes for these applications are available on the Municipal Website or can be obtained by calling the Forest office at 786-2335 or 1-877-788-2335. The meetings are held at the Thedford Village Complex, Domer of Main and Pearl Streets, Thedford Ontario. •,.� v .r •! •�.. . ; • .�' ••: • 1. `� .••�.•.• • •�•,,�• 4#44414 4Y4.."' ar t . "bf4$r. •,.• > Nei• SP,•, Z`';� .• • t, ,,.... . . �•+�,! .• O. •i .( �i" 5 • \`� �7 •I i., \••r ,fir <•��-r � ' ti *`\ councilor Martin Underwood says this should be a priority. "That river has been studies to death;" said long time councilor John Russell, "it is time to do something." "We all know the situation. These people knowingly built on a floodplain. We understand that." Prout explained there is funding through the province. "We don't want to lead people down the garden path," said councilor Ruth illman,"we need to he clear about this will he paid for." The public meeting is scheduled for January 29th at 10 a.m. in Port Franks. HISTORY The Ausable River once outletted at Grand Bend but years of sediment deposits by the currents of Lake Huron, plugged the mouth and forced the river to move south to find an outlet. This caused the gradual formation of the "Grand Bend": At the same time, the Lake Iluron shoreline was receding to the west and sand dunes were being created on the shoreline by the prevail- ing NW winds. As a result, water became trapped behind the dune ridge and formed an inland lake. ibis was the birth of Lake Burwell, to the east of the sand ridge. This area is quite shallow and a deep layer of muck was built as the result of plant decay over the follow- ing thousands of years. The subsequent partial drainage of Lake Burwell in the lute 1800/ s, uieuieu thiee siIIullei, shal- lower inland lakes in this area: Lake Burwell, Lake George and Lake Smith. The first settler to the area (1830) was a man by the name of Brewster. He built a sawmill that was powered by the Ausable River and located Just south of the "grand bend". The settlers of the area believed that the dam constructed by Brewster's Mill caused the flooding in the area, So, The Canada Company tried to get the dam removed but lost the bat- tle in court. In the early 1860s, the local settlers were so unhappy that they burnt down the mill and destroyed the dam. The flooding still continued. in 1868, the mill and dam were rebuilt but by 1878, the dam was abandoned when the mill was converted to steam power. in 1875, the Canada Company con- structed a "cut" in the river's path from the south end of the Thedford Marsh to the Village of Port Franks in order to relieve flooding. This "cut" drained the Thedford Marsh and parts of Lake Bur- well and enabled the land to be used for vegetable farming. As a result, the Aus- able River empties directly in to Lake Huron at Port Franks. This was the beginning of problems for the village of Port Franks. Since the river did not empty into Lake Burwell or head to Grand Bend anymore, the ice and sedi- ment that was once dumped in these areas, now emptied into the "Cut': This caused ice jamming problems along the "Cut" as well as in the Village of Port Franks. An interesting note is that the old river bed is 2metres/ 7 feet higher than the cut channel. Therefore, the river could not he reconnected in this area very easily. In the early 1890's the citizens of the Village of Grand Bend decided that they wanted a harbour. So, in 1892, a "cut" was created to outlet Parkhill Creek directly to the Lake at Grand Bend, This "cut" is now deeper (-2m deeper) than the original river bed and as a result the stability of the river bank was decreased (i.e. more bank exposed and overhung due to the increased depth of the chan- nel). This is why Grand Bend has ero- sion problems along the "cut" channel. The creation of this "cut" also resulted in the creation of the "Old Ausable River Channel" that we know today. Since the channel was blocked at the bend in the river, the flow to the remaining channel was terminated, fed only by precipita- tion, groundwater and very little runoff. In the summer of 1948, floods caused serious erosion problems at the mouth of the river in Port Franks. The Ausable River Conservation Authority was requested to improve the river channel in Port Franks and in 1952; an extension to the 1875 "cut" was under- taken. The diversion channel was now 8 km in length. The old mouth was cut off and a new one created but the shifting sands of Lake Huron closed the newly created mouth. The natural river mouth reopened as the result of an ice jani and has remained open in some form since. The Old Ausable River Channel was created due to a series of "cuts" that occurred on the main Ausable River. This channel from Grand Bend to Port Franks Is fed only by precipitation an"4 small amounts of groundwater and st face runoff. This channel is 14 km in length, 0.5-2.5 metres deep and 20-80 metres wide. There is minimal amount of flow in the spring and virtually no flow by July.