ERCA CEO warns Windsor may face added shoreline costs under conservation authority consolidation

Director of Watershed Management Services Tim Byrne points out flooding in the Cotterie Park Road area in Leamington, Ont., on April 16, 2018. (Melanie Borrelli / CTV Windsor)

As Windsor grapples with long-term infrastructure costs, the head of the Essex Region Conservation Authority says the city risks losing an organization that has helped secure millions of dollars for shoreline protection projects — as Ontario moves closer to formally restructuring conservation authorities across the province.

Ontario has proposed reducing the province’s 36 conservation authorities into nine larger regional bodies by early 2027, with ERCA expected to merge into a new Western Lake Erie Regional Conservation Authority.

Speaking at Windsor city council Monday, ERCA CAO Tim Byrne tied those proposed changes to concerns surrounding the city’s growing asset management pressures.

Byrne pointed to several major shoreline projects ERCA has helped fund over the years.

“We’ve been able to secure tens of millions of dollars through provincial grants to maintain and to actually construct the entire Detroit River shoreline,” Byrne told CTV News.

He said that funding has supported projects stretching from the Assumption Centennial seawall area to Windsor’s east-end waterfront.

Byrne also referenced shoreline infrastructure tied to the Peace Fountain, along with more recent restoration work on Peche Island.

“Most recently, we’ve been able to assist the city with a $700,000 grant for Peche Island and the break wall works and armor stone works on Peche Island,” he said.

Byrne said ERCA often helps the city secure provincial cost-sharing grants for shoreline infrastructure projects — funding that can cover up to 50 per cent of a project’s cost and significantly reduce the burden on Windsor taxpayers.

He warned Windsor-specific projects could receive less attention under a much larger regional conservation authority structure, potentially resulting in fewer grant applications being pursued on the city’s behalf.

“There’s a risk that an interest for that 50 per cent funding won’t be pursued,” Byrne said.

Byrne also argued Windsor’s shoreline realities differ significantly from many other communities across Ontario because nearly all of the city’s waterfront has already been developed.

He said much of the Detroit River shoreline has been transformed into parkland and recreational space, while large sections of the Lake St. Clair shoreline are lined with residential development.

“It has been managed historically through private residential development,” Byrne said.

He said those local conditions become increasingly important as aging waterfront homes eventually require replacement or redevelopment in flood-prone or erosion-prone areas.

“But we’ve tailored that provincial policy locally to address the local interests,” Byrne added.

The longtime ERCA executive also acknowledged the province’s restructuring could soon mark the end of his time representing the authority before city council.

Byrne has worked for the conservation authority for 41 years.

“As the CAO of the Essex Region Conservation Authority, this might have been one of my last opportunities I could have the pleasure of sitting in front of council and speaking to them directly,” Byrne said.

While the province’s consolidation plan has not yet taken legal effect, transition planning is already underway.