SODUS POINT, N.Y. — A state effort aims to help communities along Lake Ontario bolster their coastal resiliency.
Michael Healy has lived along Sodus Bay for decades. He says the views from his backyard never get old.
“Every season brings something special here on the bay and on the water,” Healy said.
Within in the last four years, living along the bay has caused some headaches for Healy and other property owners. The floods of 2017 and 2019 have caused the foundation of his property to crack.
“You can see where the house is slightly pulling away from the chimney,” Healy said. “You can’t leave it as is. I mean it would continue to shift and have some walls would move, ceilings and windows would not open. I can’t predict the future but it needs to be raised or r-a-z-e-d.”
Because water levels on Lake Ontario have fluctuated over the past decade, the New York State Department of State launched the Coastal Lakeshore Economy and Resiliency Initiative, also known as CLEAR.
Sodus Point Mayor David McDowell is a part of the steering committee of the CLEAR initiative in Wayne County that will use public engagement to develop a plan to protect shoreline communities.
“Sodus Point is a waterfront community, and essentially our economy is built on the waterfront,” McDowell said. “Whether it’s people coming to enjoy a meal near the water, coming to boat, coming to swim, coming to fish, coming to shop. We are a waterfront community.”
McDowell believes one of the biggest issues facing Sodus Point is figuring out how to prevent flooding when high water from heavy rainfall in the St. Lawrence River and Lake Ontario reach their community.
“This shoreline right along here should at least be the elevation of this parking lot, so the entire shoreline really from the business district down to the village line needs to be reviewed,” McDowell said. “They are all independent walls and structures who were put in place by people over time. Some work pretty well. Some hardly work at all. Some are basically falling into the bay.”
As Healy reflects on the damage caused by 2017 and 2019 floods, he intends to keep his eye on how the CLEAR initiative approaches coastal resiliency in Sodus Point.
“I hope we talk about these as memories and not future events,” Healy said laughing. “Ss we can look back nostalgically as opposed to what’s next spring going to bring.”
The final webinar for CLEAR will be on November 18 at 5 p.m.
Following the public meeting, the steering committee will work on final plan to protect coastal communities that is expected to be adopted in 2022.
There are also CLEAR initiatives in Niagara, Orleans, Monroe, Cayuga, Oswego, Jefferson and St. Lawrence counties.