Posted on February 19, 2024
There’s officially a plan in place for protecting — and restoring — Hillman Marsh.
The Essex Region Conservation Authority (ERCA) on Thursday endorsed a plan that will see the marsh near Leamington protected with a high crest, preventing Lake Erie water from damaging it.
Without protection from the lake, there’s concern that nearby homes and farmland could flood.
The project comes with a potentially hefty price tag, with estimates of up to $10 million.
“So we did ask for $6 million from the federal government to do the most pressing works,” said Kevin Money, the director of conservation for ERCA.
“Until we really dive into the fine details and the engineering … it’s really hard to put a true price tag on.”
ERCA board members chose from three different options to protect the area.
Money says the board unanimously approved the option that will provide the most protection to the marsh.
It’s also the option that most in the community wanted to see, he says.
“Hillman Marsh is that near and dear to a lot of people and it’s a beautiful place, so we just wanna keep that energy moving forward and hopefully, we’ll have a successful application and be able to really dive into this project this summer and and and keep going on it.”
Earlier this month, Wayne King with the Leamington Shoreline Association told CBC News he’s very happy to see action on the issue.
“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,” he said at the time.
ERCA hopes to know the outcome of the grant application in a few months, Money says.
From there, it could be a year-and-a-half before detailed engineering drawings for the work are complete.
