To whom are we accountable?

“The only special interest group I hold myself accountable to is the local taxpayers,” said Monroe County NY Executive Maggie Brooks in a December 2014 letter to NYS politicians and residents of the county stating non-support of "Plan 2014" proposed by the International Joint Commission to adjust Lake Ontario water levels in accordance with hydroelectric, shipping, shoreline erosion and other competing interests.   

Great Blue Heron Braddock Bay NY

I see the problem and I am reminded of the spectre of the October 2012 super-storm Sandy which hit New Jersey, NYC and Long Island.  I remember Monroe County NY Emergency Management sending out a robo-call on my street to evacuate -- the fire trucks announcing it at 3 am -- no one left Manitou Beach Rd.  

As a L. Ontario shoreline resident overlooking the shore [not directly on it], if I were involved in the public information regarding this issue, I would educate and not frighten. 

Take a look at L. Ontario levels: http://www.glerl.noaa.gov/data/now/wlevels/levels.html  
Lake Ontario shorelines are vulnerable, but the likelihood of devastation is minimal. 

The Town of Greece, State and Federal agencies, non-profits, the local environmentalists and others stand to gain if a hyped-up scenario of possible shoreline erosion wins the media battle. There are a lot of $$$ for erosion control and marsh restoration through Homeland Security and GLRI through Army Corps and other private contractors. 

The answer to lake flooding and erosion is to take a step back and consider the entire Great Lakes basin, water levels, precipitation, weather events, etc. over the last century and take a deep breath. From Oswego to Wilson, some homes are knowingly situated on fragile bluffs, cliffs and constantly eroding land, others on more stable shoreline. In days gone by only seasonal cottages primarily dotted the barrier beaches and were located close to the shore.

We often are unable to get good information about hydropower and especially in Canada. Because NYS buys so much Quebec electricity off the grid, it pushes the IJC toward leniency in hydroelectric production on the St. Lawrence. 

Agencies and non-profits, marinas and others are ready to spend $$$ to 'restore' fragile bays and other sensitive areas with concrete break walls. Why? 

Might be that the variable nature of Great Lakes hydrology, hydroelectric production leaves too much room for speculation?  

We could lose the Great Lakes as a water resource entirely.  . . . . perhaps that is what we could remember.

Land under Jakarta subsiding

According the news agency Reuters, cities in Indonesia like Jakarta and the surrounding area called Jabotabek which includes Jakarta, Bogor, Tangerany and Bekasi with a population pushing 25 million are losing the battle against water through subsidence. 

"The problem is particularly acute in Jakarta because most of its millions of residents suck water through wells that tap shallow underground aquifers. 

"Wells also provide about a third of the needs of business and industry, according to city data. 'It’s like swiss cheese underneath,' a World Bank’s representative said. 

'Groundwater extraction is unparalleled for a city of this size. People are digging deeper and deeper, and the ground is collapsing.'  

"The effect is worsened by the sheer weight of Jakarta’s urban sprawl. Economic development in recent decades has transformed the city’s traditional low-rise silhouette into a thickening forest of high-rise towers. The weight of all those buildings crushes the porous ground underneath."  

Annual floods in the rainy season are made worse by burgeoning urban population growth.  Jakarta is considered a 'mega-city' or an 'urban agglomeration.'  As people leave rural areas moving into the city outskirts, the old forests and wetlands around the city disappear. The infrastructure to support the population is nonexistent in many areas. 



The loss of environmentally-sensitive and flood-forgiving land in a city of massive poverty and slums has degraded life and water quality for everyone. 

Building a 'fake beach' east of Braddock Bay L. Ontario

Customized boat launch basin in Lake Forest, Illinois.
Does the Town of Greece want to do this at the far western
end of Edgemere Dr.? Will Great Lakes Restoration Initiative 
fund this which was built by Canadian firm, Baird and Associates?

The Town of Greece has always thought 'big.' Its 94,000 population provides a substantial assessment base and traditionally Republican voting bloc. What does the Town want?  They want $$$.

They want RECREATION even if that means bending science to fit the facts and politically shimmying up to Senator Chuck Schumer [D-NY] for that $9M in US GLRI funding.

What does the IJC support for Braddock Bay?

Look at a prototype designed by Baird and Associates of Ottawa, Ontario which is commissioned by the IJC for this kind of work.  And is funded by US $$$.  Be prepared for this to occur on the eastern side of Braddock Bay with sands constantly being replenished by transporting them from the submerged barrier, the old Manitou Trolley foundation which runs across the entire mouth of the bay.  Yet, it is this old, submerged foundation that keeps the Bay healthy --- take it away, change that hydrology and wave action . . . . turn the Bay into a muck hole with sediment deposition from Salmon and Buttonwood Creeks. 

L. Ontario water levels under IJC's "Plan 2014"

Westspit Braddock Bay NY Summer 2014

In plain language, competing interests for water levels on Lake Ontario fight on stage called the "International Joint Commission."  This US-Canadian body has power over water levels due to both the hydro projects and the shipping locks in the St. Lawrence Seaway.  In between are nuclear and coal-fired power plants, sports fisherpeople, boaters, shoreline residents, birders, hunters, environmentalists and a plethora of scientists who make a living off this endlessly contentious issue.  

Water levels make or break $$$.  It's that simple. So everyone wants to preserve their investment.  Overriding all of this are the goals and policies of NY and Ontario.  Released this year is Plan 2014 [a refinement of Plan BV7] which is under scrutiny by both country's federal governments.  There is no word from the State of New York.  

In June it was reported that "US and Canadian commissioners said that Plan 2014 balances the interests of hydropower operators, the environment, commercial shipping, recreational boaters, and shoreline property owners. The previous plan didn't take the environment into consideration and, as a result, important coastal wetlands have been damaged. No regulatory plan can satisfy the needs of all the interests all of the time," said US Commissioner Dereth Glance said.

OK -- let's see whose message is the loudest in the coming months  . . . some of whom are business and environmental people with vested interests who know that a LOT of $$$ are coming down the pike for 'hazard mitigation' in light of possible water levels rising due to global warming [more storms and other weather events] as well as 'coastal restoration' types who fit the 'environmentalist' category.  Buzz words: "coastal flooding and erosion."  NOTE image of Braddock Bay's west spit on the lake side: where there is no 'rip rap' or other revetment [seawalls, rocks, shoreline concrete, etc.], there is a nice beach.  Research has demonstrated that wave and storm action against revetment does create a sloping sand 'beach' if the water levels are allowed to go up and then to go way down again.  The incoming sand piles up and in low water, it is a beach.  Because shoreline residents are essentially hysterical over this issue and have political clout with local politicians, they make a lot of noise: see Town of Greece Board opposing Plan 2014.