The Lake Huron Centre for Coastal Conservation will be holding an event, with a number of speakers, at the Huron County Museum on Thursday, February 7th, 2019 from 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm. For further details please click Coastal Speaker Series Goderich.

The Municipality of Bluewater has recently sent out invoices to select households on the lakeshore, in the areas of St. Joseph south to Grand Bend and along the north side of Hwy 83 (Dashwood Road) and the north half of Dashwood.  These invoices relate to a Sewer Master Plan project that originally began in 2004 and was part of a Tri-Municipality Sewerage Plant Project. The municipality elected to withdraw from the process in December 2011 due to lack of funding at senior levels of government. In November 2018 council directed staff to bill out the costs of the project.  A timeline of events is in this document Lakeshore Collection and Sewage Plant Costs Fact Sheet CA complied by the municipality.

BSRA is trying to clarify what correspondence about the billing for this project might have been sent to the affected residents at the time public meetings took place in 2010 and 2011.

Today the Ausable Bayfield Conservation Authority (ABCA) released the Draft Shoreline Management Plan (SMP). The draft plan includes draft development guidelines and policies for proposed shore protection structures by proponents. Updates to the draft, not in the current plan, provide newer information on shoreline recession rates, ensure local policies and application of the Regulation conform to Province of Ontario policy and keep policies current in light of emerging land use trends. The draft plan identifies shoreline hazards for flooding, erosion, and dynamic beaches and their impact on shoreline development. Click: HERE to review the SMP

The draft development guidelines can be found in Appendix F.  Please click: HERE to review

The previous Consultants Recommendation Report 2016  (see pages 113 – 117) is still available for comparison by clicking: HERE to review

Hazard Maps are available to determine which area your property is located i.e. Lakeshore 1 or Lakeshore 2. Click: HERE to review

Interested individuals can provide their written comments by email to info@abca.ca – and are asked to put ‘Draft SMP 2018-2019 Review and Comment’ in the subject line. These comments must be received by January 25, 2019. For those who wish to submit comments by mail the address: 71108 Morrison Line, RR 3 Exeter, ON N0M 1S5 and to put ‘Draft SMP 2018-2019 Review and Comment’ on the envelope. If you have any questions you are asked to contact Planning and Regulations staff at ABCA or phone 519 235-2610 or toll-free 1-888-286-2610.

Road Grant Applications

November 30th is the deadline to submit applications for 2018

These are the unofficial results of the 2018 Municipal Election.

Mayor: Paul Klopp

Deputy Mayor: Jim Ferguson

Councillor Stanley West: George Irvin

Councillor Hay West: Alwyn Vanden Berg

Councillor Hensall: Scott Harris

Councillor Stanley East: Peter Walden

Acclaimed

Councillor Bayfield:  Bill Whetstone

Councillor Hay East: John Becker

Councillor Zurich: Shawn LaPorte

Further details of the voting can be found on the municipal website by clicking; HERE

Researchers at the University of Waterloo are gathering information regarding a study on the Dune Grass. Information sheets were distributed at the BSRA Annual General Meeting in August.

The University is conducting research to better understand the human-environment interactions between people and the Lake Huron shoreline by examining the benefits people receive from beach grass, how they perceive and interact with it and gaining insights on how to better manage beach grass along the Lake Huron shoreline for the better of the people and the environment. They are conducting a short online or phone survey with local property owners and beach visitors to understand their perspectives on these benefits. The survey aims to understand how you interact with beach grass along the shoreline and the benefits you receive from its presence. The survey should take no more than 10 minutes to complete, and a topic of interest to all of us along the shoreline.

If you are interested in participating or would like to receive more information on this research, please contact: Charlotte Hings by email at chings@uwaterloo.ca or by phone at 1 514 261 2677