The Saugeen Times

On-going saga of Southampton's dunes

Town Council

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At the recent Town Council meeting celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Southampton Town Hall, the issue of beach dunes was once again brought forward by the Southampton Residents Association (SRA).

Rod McLeod, Chair of the SRA Beach Committee, presented a deputation on behalf of the SRA that demanded three actions be taken by the town:

to do whatever is necessary to mitigate problems of deteriorated sight lines, lack of beach access and property devaluation caused by the height of the Harmer Street dune
DO SO in the fall of 2011
Annual maintenance thereafter

As part of the background history, McLeod reported the SRA played a lead role in 1995 planning and executing a joint effort with the town to protect beaches by planting beach grass east-west ends of the cross streets between High and Beach Streets and the town constructing pathways through the Chantry Dunes for easier access to the lake.

According to the SRA deputation, the dune has grown as a result of town construction of a large trench for a drain and its on-going maintenance.

"A large pile of dirt was left by the Town that has become a sand hill," McLeod said. "It is approximately 25 ft. high and a hundred feet long."

Geoff Peach, Director of the Lake Huron Centre for Coastal Preservation, was called in as a consultant in 2003 and again in 2006.

Peach is considered an expert in dune ecology and dune conservation and worked on major restoration projects, including the Chantry Dunes and the Southampton Beach Erosion Control projects in the Town of Saugeen Shores.

In 2006, the Town, the Saugeen Valley Conservation Authority (SVCA) and SRA met to the discuss the 2006 Peach report. At that time, the SRA wanted a lowering of the Harmer Street Dune and protocol for restricting the height of cross street dunes that were growing as a result of the l985 plantings. The SVCA cited the policy that a "naturally created dune cannot be touched".

In 2010 however, the SRA retained consultant Milo Sturm of Shoreline Engineering Inc. Sturm said that he expected "... computer modeling of wind and wave patterns would show the Harmer St. dune was far higher than needed to do the job of protecting the beach and preventing loss of sand".

Then, in 2011, the Town and SRA met again to attempt to find a solution. The Town said it was concerned about the Ministry of Natural Resources' (MNR) position. Following this, the SRA then hired Ian Seddon, a town planner.

In Seddon's estimation,"... the dune was initiated by the 'blow out' created by the trench digging and then natural forces contributed to the dune's growth". Seddon also felt that there were flaws in Peach's reports and that, overall, it was the trench and construction of the drain that allowed the dune to grow.

In the SRA deputation, McLeod also said that the dune problem was " ... not a matter for the Waterfront Committee's (recently struck by the town) two year study for a 10 year waterfront plan ... this issue requires speedier action." He concluded the report with that fact that adjacent residents, the public who want access to the water (especially those who have difficulty climbing a 25 ft. hill) and the Town "... have been misled too long by so-called experts. Please fix it."

The Saugeen Times conducted a survey on the question of reducing the size of the Dunes on Southampton's Beach and it drew strong reactions and an overwhelming vote against reducing and/or making changes to them.

The survey, in fact, drew the strongest reactions of any of our surveys so far. It appears that the Dunes and the issues surrounding beach management interest everyone who uses the Southampton beaches. Many people took the time to comment.

The survey also produced the widest margin between yes and no voters.

The majority of concern over the dunes appears to be the blocking of the lake view for some of the eleven summer residents living along the beach in the Harmer Street area.

For more background the following have been included for information:

Geoff Peach: Lake Huron Centre for Coastal Preservation Click Here

Past Dune Survey results