A popular boat launch in Plympton-Wyoming has been closed for the year due to unsafe conditions.
The St. Clair Region Conservation Authority announced earlier this month that the Highland Glen boat launch will be closed for the 2020 season.
Manager of Conservation Areas Greg Wilcox said damaged infrastructure, erosion, and high water levels led to the closure.
"So there was significant damage in the late fall during a storm to one of the sections of steel groyne -- so the groyne basically had all the steel disappear, it all got destroyed. That groyne was constructed in the 90s, it was in response to safety concerns at the boat ramp -- people were concerned that the waves were creating unsafe conditions there for launching and removing boats."
Wilcox said the authority is currently investigating ways to slow down erosion in the area.
"So we have erosion impacting the shoreline kind of within the boat ramp area, so it's exposing the sides of the ramp. And we also have erosion on both the upstream and downstream side of kind of that protection structure, and it's probably within a metre-and-a-half of the parking lot at this point in one spot," said Wilcox. "Just with high water, we have some other concerns at the walkway alongside the ramp. So as the water is so high relative to our walkways, with the increased wave action inside the ramp area, we could see, worst-case scenario, a boat could end up getting pushed right up onto the walkway and injure somebody."
Wilcox said multiple issues led to the closure and that the damaged groyne sealed the fate for now.
He said it's still too early to say when the boat launch will reopen.
"Right now, we're still early on in this process, so we're acquiring estimates right now for groyne repair, but we're also going to have to investigate potential solutions to erosion, as well as we may have to modify or create new walkways to accommodate the higher water," said Wilcox. "So we're looking at potential opportunities for improvements as well if we are going to take on this work -- we can do some improvements at the same time hopefully. And we're also just investigating funding sources at this point, any potential grant opportunities, and see where we can come up with funding to make the improvements."
Wilcox said the closest boat launches are in Sarnia, Grand Bend, and Port Franks.