Higher sea levels, more frequent storm surges and increased coastal erosion have all become facts of life in Queens County.
Climate change has well and truly arrived, particularly in the county’s seaside communities. And local government and businesses are beginning to respond, factoring climate science into both current operations and future planning processes.
Mersey Seafoods, one of South Queens’ largest employers, is a case in point.
The company recently announced plans to build a new, state-of-the-art facility to replace the aging buildings currently in use. In deference to climate change, Mersey Seafoods will move its operations further away from the water and to a higher elevation.
“The last few years in particular, the storm surge and constant flooding into the building has certainly increased and been more severe,” said company president Greg Simpson. “The primary focus of where we put this new building was to mitigate any long-term potential disasters from the surge and the rising water levels that we’ve absolutely seen.”
To provide adequate separation from the water – as well as appropriate buffers and landscape features for neighbours – the company purchased an adjacent residential lot, which has since been rezoned for fishing and marine purposes.
As average temperatures continue to rise, the type of planning done by Mersey Seafoods will become increasingly important, said Brittany MacIsaac, a coastal outreach coordinator with the Ecology Action Centre in Halifax.
“The increase in temperatures is actually increasing and expanding bodies of water. And that is a big a component of why sea levels are rising,” MacIsaac said. “It’s much the same as when a pot of water boils, it expands in volume.”
Climate change is also expected to create storms of greater intensity as well as more powerful storm surges, according to scientists. “That will affect the rate of erosion on the coast as well,” noted MacIsaac.
Provincial and municipal governments should be wary of permitting new development in vulnerable coastal areas, MacIsaac said. They should also be vigilant in protecting low-lying coastal roads, which are often the only routes connecting smaller communities, she added.
A year ago, during the provincial election, Premier Stephen McNeil promised to introduce a Coastal Protection Act. No legislation has been introduced yet, but a provincial spokeswoman said the government is working on it.
“In recent months, the department has been laying the groundwork for public consultations to inform development of coastal protection legislation,” said Nova Scotia Environment’s Chrissy Matheson by email. “In the coming months, we expect to be in a position to proceed with public consultation and engagement of a wide range of stakeholders. We’ll take their views into account as we develop the legislation, which we hope to introduce in the next year.”
Queens-Shelburne MLA Kim Masland, who serves as environment critic for Nova Scotia’s Progressive Conservatives, said action needs to come more quickly.
“I have been receiving calls from constituents who are property owners living along the coast looking for assistance in dealing with coastal erosion and flooding,” she said by email. “This shouldn’t be their reality. With much of Queens surrounded by the beautiful scenic coast, we need to plan to protect our shoreline.”
Locally, Region of Queens Municipality (RQM) is preparing to address the growing effects of climate change in a couple of ways.
First, it has announced plans to commission a $75,000 engineering assessment of the flood-prone Liverpool waterfront.
“A large part of the waterfront parking lot was infilled into the river over the last 70 years,” said RQM Mayor David Dagley. “It’s an area that was infilled to a level that residents at the time thought would be acceptable, but with global warming and climate change, the surge tides are increasing in elevation and frequency.”
Increased flooding in the area is a “significant” problem, he said. “It causes interruptions in not only the usage of the road and parking lot, but also impacts negatively on some of the commercial businesses that are there.”
Memories Café is one of the Liverpool businesses that’s been hardest hit by the flooding.
“The water comes in and covers our entire dining room floor,” said owner Linda Giffin Smith. “It’s gotten progressively worse over the years. This year we’ve had four of them, including three really bad ones.”
These water issues have affected Memories’ bottom line by causing the café to close on short notice and pay staff to clean up once the water retreats. “Over time it’s going to get more expensive,” said Giffin Smith. “The floors are going to need to be replaced more frequently than they normally would.”
While encouraged that an engineering assessment will take place, she is not holding her breath the problem will be resolved any time soon. “If the study is going to be step one, great,” she said. “But there needs to be action after it.”
For his part, Dagley said the assessment is only the first of a three-stage process that should lead to meaningful results.
In addition to studying flooding issues along the Liverpool waterfront, RQM also intends to enhance its climate change response by giving coastal issues more prominence in its planned review of municipal planning strategy and land-use bylaws.
“We’ve incorporated some provisions in the current planning documents,” said municipal planner Mike MacLeod. “We’re attempting to expand upon those.”
As it looks for external consultants to undertake the review, RQM will ensure climate science is top of mind, he said. “The (request for proposal), which will be going out soon, will specifically ask applicants to look at current and future effects of climate change on communities in Queens.
LighthouseNow Progress Bulletin
May 9, 2018
Scott Costen 