Posted on June 8, 2021
Troy Shantz
Sarnia has agreed to dredge the clogged mouth of Cow Creek in Bright’s Grove.
An emergency dig will begin in the next few weeks at a cost of $50,000, followed by a fuller $250,000 dredging this fall, pending approvals from the St. Clair Region Conservation Authority.
For councillors, it was not a tough sell.
On May 25, six teenage girls on inflatable rafts were rescued from Lake Huron after being blow offshore at Bright’s Grove.
Rescuers had to make use of a borrowed canoe and jet skis from lakefront property owners, in part because the sandy dam prevented potential “rescue” boats from entering the lake.
“If the creek was accessible there would’ve been no need for a rescue in the first place, because there would’ve been boats on the water to prevent it,” resident Mark Moran told the May 28 council meeting.
Cow Creek, formerly known as Perch Creek, was once about three metres (10 feet) deep but residents now have difficulty getting a kayak through the plugged mouth.
“Boats have run aground in the past … and it will happen again but under much worse conditions,” Moran said.
It’s believed record high lake levels allowed sand and gravel to wash over the shoreline breakwalls and build up in the entranceway. As a result, stagnant creek water that should be draining into the lake has backed up, raising the creek by about half a metre (1.5 feet), city staff said.
In 2018, testing found Cow Creek had four-times the E. coli bacteria provincial guidelines consider safe, Moran told council.
City staff acknowledge Cow Creek is designated as a safe harbour for boats caught in bad weather on Lake Huron, but have been unable to confirm what, if any, obligation the city has to maintain it.
The federal government turned ownership over to Sarnia in 2002 along with $100,000 for maintenance. It’s not clear when it was last dredged.
An earlier dredging estimate was for up to $1 million. But most of that expense was eliminated when testing confirmed the sediment is not contaminated and won’t need special handling and disposal, staff said.
Once permits are approved the emergency work should wrap within a couple of weeks, with fuller dredging to take place this fall, staff said.
