High water along the shores of Lake Ontario has been plaguing residents and municipalities for the past several years.
While both local government and state officials have long recognized the need for major repairs and upgrades, like many projects, funding has been a key factor in delaying the work.
On Thursday, Senator Chuck Shumer visited Sodus Point to announce $4.5 million in funding has now been approved to help restore the Charles Point barrier.
Charles Point, along with the man-made barriers along the lake, create modern-day Sodus Bay, helping protect shoreline residents and businesses from the dramatic forces of Lake Ontario. It makes Charles Point a key to ensuring the future of not only Sodus Point, but Sodus Bay and the surrounding area at large.
“Over the past few years, Lake Ontario’s historic flooding has battered Wayne County communities and their bays and harbors including Great Sodus Bay, Blind Sodus, and Port Bay, which generate millions of dollars in annual economic output, essentially decimating their local economy,” Schumer said in a statement.
Although news of funding should help to alleviate concerns, most involved are quick to recognize that it’s only part of a much larger conversation around rising water levels and the factors at play.
Many stakeholders point to the International Joint Commission’s Plan 2014, blaming the increased outflows for the severe flooding along the lakeshore in 2017 and 2019.
Schumer saying of the IJC’s plan “It’s not working, and they’ve got to start from scratch and come up with a better one.”
But with dramatic conditions in areas across the country, the changing environment undoubtedly plays a part as well.
For residents of the Point, and others living in waterfront communities, the impact has been felt both physically and emotionally.
Fabian Serventi and his family purchased a summer home on Charles Point four years ago. “To say that we’re going to spend summers there with our family and enjoy family time, and to have that taken away because of high flood waters and everything else, that’s difficult,” he said at the press conference on Thursday.
The Village of Sodus Point officially declared a state of emergency back in early February, but Mayor McDowell stresses there is “no imminent concern,” and that the declaration was made primarily as a precaution and to enable the village to request help from state and federal agencies.
McDowell sharing in a statement “Advanced planning and asset preparation is our top priority as we move into the Spring — and this declaration is needed to move us ahead at this time.”
In addition to the funding for Charles Point, Schumer says he has also requested $1.5 million from the Economic Development Administration to conduct additional repairs at various locations throughout Wayne County.
Schumer pledging to keep the pressure on. “It’s time to restore barrier beaches and stabilize bluff and damaged infrastructure in order to protect hundreds of homes and business and get Wayne County back in business. I will continue to fight with every fiber of my being for any and all of the federal aid and technical support available to help these Lake Ontario communities recover and make them as resilient as possible to endure future storms.”
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