Building Climate Resiliency Along Lake Ontario By Hanna C. Quigley, Assistant Landscape Architect I, Barton & Loguidice and Thomas M. Robinson Senior Managing Landscape Architect,Barton & Loguidice
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he Great Lakes cover the largest surface of fresh water in the world, spanning 4,530 miles of coastline, with an overall watershed of over 200,000 square miles. The Lakes comprise 21% of the global supply of surface fresh water, and 84% of North America's surface fresh water. In recent years, the region has been experiencing extreme precipitation events, changes in growing seasons, and heightening temperature, which have resulted in damage to coastal environments. This has impacted the people, ecosystems, and infrastructure of the Great Lakes region. In response to these challenges, New York State developed the Resiliency & Economic Development Initiative (REDI) to provide funding to communities for coastal resilience and economic development. Wayne County, located in central New York along Lake Ontario, was awarded grant funding through this program for multiple projects. Two of the projects selected are the Crescent Beach Barrier Bar Project and the Blind Sodus Bay Barrier Bar Project.
Barton & Loguidice worked closely with Anchor QEA as the selected consultant team for these projects. The synergy between various practice areas enhanced our approach to solving two different coastal challenges along Lake Ontario: creating new nature-based systems to protect existing shoreline, and re-establishing pre-existing shoreline.
Crescent Beach Crescent Beach is a 1.5 mile long barrier bar located in the Town of Huron and the Town of Sodus, New York on the southern shore of Lake Ontario. The barrier bar is home to approximately 80 seasonal and year-round residents and protects Sodus Bay from wind, wave, and ice forces on Lake Ontario. Sodus Bay provides bio-diverse aquatic habitats and is designated as a New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) significant natural community. The primary objective of the Crescent Beach REDI Project is to design and construct a natural or nature-based shoreline stabilization system that protects Crescent Beach from Lake Ontario wave action and enhances the overall resiliency of the barrier beach. Design criteria include: • Long Term Protection of Crescent Beach Shoreline from Wind, Waves, and Ice Forces • Protection of Sodus Bay aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems •
Impacts to Private Property
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Use of Natural or Nature-Based Features
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Cost Considerations
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Maintenance Considerations
Multiple alternatives were evaluated with these criteria, resulting in the selection of a barrier rock reef living shoreline system, which achieves the established objectives and design criteria. Incorporating public input, the design team developed a living shoreline system that distributed protection and ecosystem enhancements 36
NYSAC News | Fall 2021
