Wheatley Harbour Maintenance Dredging - 2020-2021

Wheatley Harbour is located at the west end of Lake Erie, approximately 15 km east of Leamington, Ontario. The harbour is an active commercial fishing facility under the administration of Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) Small Craft Harbours Branch (SCH). Active littoral transport occurs from the north-east to the south-west along the shoreline and has resulted in sedimentation against the east side of the east pier, within the lee of the detached breakwater, and within the harbour entrance and approach channel, impacting access to and from the harbour. Dredging has frequently been required to maintain a functioning harbour.

 

Accordingly, SCH is planning to undertake a large, land-based maintenance dredging project in Wheatley Harbour to maintain the navigability of the channel and provide continued safe ingress and egress to Lake Erie for small craft and commercial vessels. Dredging this material will initially reduce the frequency of reactive dredging operations and provide a more reliably open and safe navigation channel. The duration of the benefits of a large dredge could be extended through a regular maintenance dredging program where accumulated sediment on the east beach would be regularly removed.

 

Up to 20,000 m³ of dredged medium-to-coarse sand will be dredged from the harbour approach area, and deposited at designated sites downdrift in Lake Erie to allow natural dispersion towards Point Pelee through ongoing, natural lake processes.

More


Latest update

End of Public Comment Period

October 10, 2020 – The public comment period on the project is closed. Fisheries and Oceans Canada Small Craft Harbours is considering comments received to help inform its determination on whether the carrying out of the project is likely to cause significant adverse environmental effects.

Participate

Contacts

Fisheries and Oceans Canada
Ryan Schertzing, Senior Project Technologist
867 Lakeshore Rd
Burlington, Ontario L7S 1A1
Telephone: 905-315-5284 or 1-905-315-5284
Email: Ryan.Schertzing@dfo-mpo.gc.ca


  • Location

    • Wheatley Harbour (Ontario)
  • Nature of Activity

    • Ports and Harbours
  • Assessment Status

    Completed
  • Start Date

    2020-09-10
  • Proponent

    Fisheries and Oceans Canada
  • Authorities

    • Fisheries and Oceans Canada
  • Assessment Type

    Project on federal lands
  • Reference Number

    80984
Disclaimer

This map is for illustrative purposes. The markers represent the approximate locations based on available data. More than one marker may be identified for a given assessment.

 

Nearby assessments

...within 200 kilometres
Date modified: