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Extensive erosion along West Street Beach in Georgetown has council working to stop the problem before it gets any worse.
Councillor Wade Williams said the popular destination has lost between 15 to 20 feet of shoreline in the last two to three years alone.
“The gabion rock baskets from previous fixes are collapsed and totally gone,” Coun Williams said at Monday night’s regular monthly meeting.
Coun Williams said the six outfalls (pipes used to discharge storm water) at the beach are in need of repair as well.
“A storm management plan ought to fix these areas, but long term, the town will have to address this or we will lose valuable beach front,” Coun Williams said.
He estimated the cost to replace the outfalls could run between $15,000-$20,000 and would involve replacing the rusted ends of each metal pipe and tying them into the shoreline by approximately five feet on either side of each pipe.
“The storm sewer money I have now can be used to fix the outfalls,” Coun Williams said, adding the work will be done sometime this fall.
He said that cost could run even higher if the town decides to use armour stone (granite) instead of Island sandstone to build up the area around the outfalls. He wasn’t sure how much the extra cost would be.
Coun Williams said this year’s work will tie in to work that will be carried out in future years to replace the aging shoreline infrastructure.
Council voted to consult engineering firm EXP Services Inc to assess the erosion problem and provide an overall design for West Street Beach, including an estimated cost for that work.
“Once we have a complete cost on the project, I would have a rough idea how much money we’d have to apply for under an infrastructure program,” Coun Williams said, referring to federal funding that is available to municipalities for infrastructure improvements.
Coun Williams said the town will do what it can to preserve the popular location, which sees many people using the nearby bike trail, boardwalk and gazebo.
“It’s one of our main assets,” he said. “So hopefully we can find ways to deal with it.”
First appeared in The Eastern Graphic July 17, 2013
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