The Essex Region Conservation Authority has unanimously approved its budget for 2019 with a focus on climate change and reducing phosphorus runoff into area waterways.
Phosphorus runoff is partly to blame for toxic algal blooms in western Lake Erie that have prompted water concerns in recent years on Pelee Island and in Toledo, Ohio.
ERCA said it would also work with the University of Windsor on innovative new solutions for filtering phosphorus before it reaches the Great Lakes.
"Canadians have identified climate change as the greatest threat to our future," said General Manager, Richard Wyma explaining the agency's priorities.
The budget totals $7.7-million. That includes a levy contribution from the county's seven municipalities of $3.2-million, which works out to $10 per resident. The Ontario average is $14.42 per capita.
The budget also includes funding to plant over 60 acres of forest and prairie, rehabilitate a 70-acre wetland along the Canard River, and create a new fish habitat on Peche Island, owned by the City of Windsor.
