ERCA to consider new plan for Hillman Marsh restoration

It's a plan for which many residents have been waiting years: The Essex Region Conservation Authority (ERCA) will next week present proposalsfor the restoration of Hillman Marsh, adding a barrier so the sensitive wetlands will be protected.

ERCA will soon consider plansfor restoration of what's known as the barrier beach,separating the marsh, located on the outskirts of Leamington, from Lake Erie.

Over the yearsthe beach has eroded awayleaving the marsh, home to wildlife and vegetation, at the mercy of lakefront waves.

"Now it can be restored to a proper wetland, where it performs as a wetland, where it filters out the nutrients and the pollutants before entering Lake Erie," said Wayne King, a lifelong resident and advocate for Hillman Marsh with the Leamington Shoreline Association. "That doesn't happen today."

Next weekERCA's board of directors will hear about options for rebuilding the barrier between Hillman Marsh and Lake Erie, kicking off a two-year-long adaptation and restoration strategy, said Kevin Money, director of conservation services with ERCA.

"In an ideal wetland of what we call the 50/50 ratio, you have 50 per cent water and 50 per cent emergent vegetation like plants like cattails and bulrushes growing out of water," Money said.

"Right now it's 100 per cent water in many areas of wetland and so we want to create that right balance, always try to draw wildlife back into the area."

Immediate action needed to save Essex County wetland, says ERCA

1 year ago

Duration 2:38

There has been significant erosion at Hillman Marsh in Leamington. With a former beach swept away and the marsh starting to disappear, the CBC's Chris Ensing hears about a plan to increase protections and rebuild a natural barrier between the marsh and Lake Erie.

Aside from the ecological benefits, Money says the marsh is important from a tourism perspective for its significance in birding. And, the marsh helps support the Municipality of Leamington's dike infrastructure as well.

King says that without the barrier restored at Hillman Marsh, it's "when, not if" the berm fails and 3,035 hectares (7,500 acres) of farmland and as many as 500 homes are flooded.

Money said the project will be supported with funding from upper levels of government, as they're putting forward grant applications including a current grant application for as much as $6 million. The price tag could be around $10 million.

"ERCA's done a good job of putting this together, they've got all the right people from all the agencies, all the governmental agencies," King said. "I feel reasonably confident that they're going to come up with that funding."

ERCA will consider three options, including one high-crested option that allow for more vegetation but is also the most expensive.

Other options with lower crests will make the marsh more dynamic and natural, but overwash or strong waves coming up over the barrier will make it harder to maintain.

King said that's the favoured option for most on the Leamington Shoreline Association,though they're also looking at a hybrid option that would prevent all but the biggest waves.

The process will begin with some preliminary repairs, King says, followed by a multi-year restoration. That work, ERCA says, is funded by the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks.

"It certainly makes me happy that finally, something is being done," King said. "It has taken long enough."