Wheatley Harbour Dredging Project - Winter 2020

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.

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