in si de ha lto n. co m O ak vi lle B ea ve r | T hu rs da y, M ay 14 ,2 02 0 | 8 oakville.ca Halton Region Public Health encourages residents (who are not self-isolating) to go for a walk, run or bike ride outside in order to stay physically active but follow health guidelines. Visit halton.ca for more information. Allowed in parks Going for a walk, run or bike ride through your neighbourhood park Walking your dog on a leash through your local park. Adhere to existing dogs-in-park and physical distancing by-laws Keep a 2-metre distance from anyone not in your household Sitting on a blanket, grass or lawn chair Playing with a ball, flying a kite, and letting young children run and burn off some energy Groups of more than 5 people not from the same household Using baseball, soccer, football fields or running tracks for play or practice Playing on play structures, swings, slides, and other park equipment Using park benches or picnic tables Using skateboard parks or enclosed dog parks Using beaches or marina boat launch ramps Not allowed in parks Provincial emergency order restrictions on park activities remain in effect. Learn more at oakville.ca. High water levels and flooding did at least $1.7 mil-flooding did at least $1.7 mil-f lion worth of damage to Oak- ville's shoreline in 2019. Oakville council re- viewed the condition of its shoreline and approved some repairs during an April 23 meeting. In a report to council Chris Mark, Director of Parks and Open Space, noted that during spring of 2019 Lake Ontario rose to the highest level seen since 1918. These high waters levels, he said, created significant flooding in both harboursflooding in both harboursf and a number of waterfront parks. Gairloch Gardens, Coro- nation Park, Oakville and Bronte harbours were closed or partially closed for public safety throughout the spring and summer periods. In addition, a number of waterfront trails were closed at various times for safety. Area resident Donna Miller described these condi- tions in a May 2019 social me- dia post. "I took pictures today at the Bronte Yacht Club. Sad, everywhere flooding," she wrote. "I walked along that beach area and the pier with the steps is underwater. Wow. Lots of birds loving itWow. Lots of birds loving itW though." Mark said fewer storm events and less easterly winds in 2019 meant the shoreline damage was not as bad as that suffered during 2017. Flooding during that year resulted in around $3.8 mil- lion worth of damage to Oak- ville's shoreline. Even so the price tag to repair the damage from 2019 is substantial. At Coronation Park, Mark noted that while repair work done following flood- ing in 2017 was held, other sections to the east of this new wall were damaged. These repair costs, which were approved by council during the meeting, are esti- mated at $125,000. That repair work will be undertaken immediately to prevent further damage and erosion. Council also approved funds to cover design andfunds to cover design andf permit approvals for repairs at several other flood dam- aged parks. These funds included $25,000 for South Shell Park, $90,000 for the Bronte Heri- tage Waterfront Park, $35,000 for Arkendo Park and $35,000 for Busby Park. The actual cost for re- pairs at these locations, which have yet to be ap- proved by council, are expec- ted to be $400,000 for South Shell Park, $500,000 for Bron- te Heritage Waterfront Park and $550,000 for Busby Park. Repair costs for ArkendoRepair costs for ArkendoR Park have yet to be deter- mined. Due to the possibility of additional flooding at Coro- nation Park council also vot- ed to ban large events from the park for 2020 (with the ex- ception of the Terry Fox Run).Run).R Permits for picnics in Coronation Park will also be issued no earlier than 45 days in advance. Councillors also voted to direct Town staff to under- take an assessment of vul- nerable flood prone public waterfront parks and har- bours and to provide a "build back better" strategy with recommendations and op- tions for council's consider- ation. Mark discussed this "build back better" strategy and how it has already been implemented in some areas. "We have built in the 'build back better' principle into the design and the work at Gairloch Gardens. When an asset has deteriorated and needs to be rebuilt it is built back better for higher resiliency and greater lon- gevity," said Mark. "We have built that into the Gairloch (shoreline) wall. We did that as well at the Oakville Power Boat Club for the seawalls that got rebuilt there. They did not overtop in the high water of 2019. So that is an example where 'built back better' was quite successful." There is no shortage of need for methods to prevent future shoreline damage.future shoreline damage.f "At the time of writing this report (April 20), Lake Ontario is already .981 m (52 cm or 20.5 inches) above average and Lake Erie is alsoaverage and Lake Erie is alsoa at a record high level, 89 cm (35 inches) above average," said Mark. It should be noted that on April 30 the International Lake Ontario-St. Lawrence River Board announced that thanks to favourable weath- er and water supply condi- tions, water levels through- out the Lake Ontario-St. Lawrence River system are expected to peak well below the record highs of 2017 and 2019. Even so the board advises lakeside municipalities to undertake actions plans that will build resiliency into the shoreline and prepare for the high and low water events of the future. STORY BEHIND THE STORY: We put this story together because over the last few years shoreline flooding has been a signif- icant issue in Oakville and many Great Lakes commu- nities. We felt it was impor- tant for residents to know how much repairs to flood damage will cost, what the Town is doing to mitigate future damage and what the prospects are for flood- ing this year. NEWS COUNCIL APPROVES $310,000 TO HELP REPAIR SHORELINE COUNCIL ALSO BANS LARGE EVENTS FROM CORONATION PARK FOR 2020 DAVID LEA dlea@metroland.com A boy navigates Oakville's flooded Water Street on his bicycle during the spring of 2019. Graham Paine/Torstar