The need for further investment in shoreline protection in Sarnia and Bright's Grove is being reinforced by predictions that lake levels continue to rise.
In its latest six month forecast, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said Lake Huron is expected to be above normal this spring and summer.
St. Clair Region Conservation Authority Director of Water Resources Girish Sankar said erosion control upgrades are needed.
"The shoreline structures that have been in place along Lake Huron specific to Sarnia and Bright's Grove, for the most part, have been installed in the 1960s and 70s," said Sankar. "Relative to that, when we had high lake levels in the 1980s the structures were fairly new, but these structures have reached their life expectancy and we're seeing a lot of erosion, a lot of failure in these structures."
Sankar said lake levels will go up or down depending on the weather, but resilient structures need to be built along the shoreline to protect public infrastructure and properties.
Some shoreline protection has been done in Bright's Grove, including the installation of new groynes and armour stone rocks, but future work depends on the availability of provincial funding.
