• Abstract and Figures
• Public Full-text

CLIMATE CHANGE VULNERABILITY ASSESSMENT NORTH RUSTICO, PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This work was funded by Natural Resources Canada’s Regional Adaptation Collaborative (RAC) and by the PEI Department of Environment, Labour and Justice. Climate change vulnerability assessments were guided by Weather, Climate Change and My Community: A Planning Workbook (2011), created by the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, Memorial University (St. John’s, NL), Professional Municipal Administrators, and Municipalities Newfoundland and Labrador. This work would not have been possible without the enthusiastic participation of the municipal council and residents of North Rustico. Their commitment to climate change adaptation has set a standard for other Island communities. In particular, we thank Mr. Fred Doiron, Mr. Robbie Doiron, Mr. David Gallant, Ms. Gail Gallant, Mr. Giles Gallant, Ms. Jane Marie Gallant, Ms. Patsy Gamauf, Ms. Nancy Gauthier, Ms. Ann Kirk, Mr. Allan Nisbet, and Mr. Les Standen. Their collaborative efforts were invaluable. We also thank the following residents of North Rustico and surrounding areas, who graciously shared their insights via personal interview: Mr. Vance Court, Mr. Emard Court, Mr. Don Gallant, Mr. Gary Gallant, Mr. Merlin Gallant, Mr. Joey Gauthier, Mr. Joe Perry, Mr. John Peters, and Mr. Norman Peters. The North Rustico Seniors Club, and the Grade 7 to 9 students at the Gulf Shore School, also made valuable contributions. i STORIES OF WEATHER AND CHANGE North Rustico and area residents share memorable climate related events from the past Vance and Emard Court (Figure 1) of Rustico Harbour recall: • how the Rustico Harbour area was actually an island. When their father (Beecher Court) was 10 years old (approx. 1898), small dories used to sail into the harbour where the Breakwater Road is currently located. • many storms over the years of their memory. There was a bad storm in the mid 1960s that did a lot of damage. This storm occurred during a high tide and resulted in buildings and boats being flooded in the harbour area. If the water had risen an inch higher the water from this storm would have been inside their house. • December 21, 2010, storm surge. Water flooded the area around their house and several other Figure 1 - Vance and Emard Court of Rustico buildings in the area. Vance Court and his wife Harbour stand in front of the historic North Rustico Harbour Lighthouse (photo credit: D. Jardine). Alice were away that day and tried to return home, but couldn’t access Harbour View Drive. They were forced to stay at a motel in Brackley for the night. The peak water level during this storm was over 30 centimetres (12 inches) above the floor at the Sea Gulls Nest Gift Shop. • a decrease in local sea ice. They believe that anyone under 30 years of age hasn’t seen a real snow storm or sea ice. “Nowadays,” Vance Court stated, “you couldn’t find enough ice to supply an ice house”. When their father was young he told them that one could drive a horse and sleigh on the ice in the Gulf from North Rustico all the way to North Cape. They also Figure 2 - A baby seal is washed ashore at the North Rustico recall an active seal hunt (Figure 2) breakwater (March 31, 2011) (photo credit: D. Jardine). on the ice off North Rustico when they were young, but this hasn’t occurred for many, many years. ii Mr. Norman Peters (Figure 3) of North Rustico recalls: • that the December 21, 2010, storm surge was as bad as any he has observed over the years. The surge occurred at high tide, during a severe northeast storm. The seas were chalk white during the storm. A biologist told him that between the big waves the bottom of the Gulf was exposed. This caused a lot of sediment to be moved around. Mr. Peters does feel Figure 3 - Norman Peters, long time resident and fisherman, stands at North that the storms have been Rustico wharf (photo credit: D. Jardine). getting worse in the past few years, especially the storm surges. These were not that common years ago. • a decrease in the amount of sea ice. Years ago, many springs seemed cool and icy. During the past two springs there has been no ice in the Gulf or in the North Rustico Harbour. • shoreline erosion. Mr. Peters knows of a beach, by the crib work in front of the lighthouse, which was frequented by the local residents. It is now completely gone due to erosion of sand in the area. • fluctuations in local water temperature. This past season, Mr. Peters observed “tremendous fluctuations” in water temperature, noting changes of up to 9 degrees from one day to the next. He had not seen this previously. Mr. Peters notes that lobsters do not move much when water temperatures are cold and that this fluctuation probably contributed to the poor catches early in 2011. Mr. Joe Perry of North Rustico recalls: • storm surges. Joe stated that the December 21, 2010, storm surge was as bad as any he has experienced over the years. The area south of Fisherman’s Wharf and extending to the harbour was underwater, and the street (Harbour View Drive) running to Rustico Harbour was flooded. He believes that the water could have been much higher, but infilling and building up around the wharves prevented the water from coming further inland iii Mr. Joey Gauthier of Rusticoville recalls: • storm surges. He noted that the December 21, 2010, storm surge was the worst he has seen in a long time. This surge ruined his wharf and caused a loss of over 2 metres (8 feet) off his bank. Gabion baskets placed on the bank provide some protection. Mr. Gauthier recalls two more storms, one 10 years ago and another 40 years ago, that caused similar damage. • changes in sea level and tides. In the last five years he has observed that there is no true low tide at Rusticoville anymore. He notes that there are mostly high tides and higher tides. When he replaced his wharf this past spring, he constructed it a foot higher to allow for sea level rise and storm surges. • a decreased amount of sea ice. He recalled that there has been virtually no ice in the harbour or the Gulf over the last few years. They haven’t had pan ice or any big ice from up north enter the Gulf in many years. Lobster boats are no longer held back due to ice at the beginning of the May fishing season. • increased siltation in local waterways. Severe erosion in recent years has caused increased sedimentation in the channel into Rustico, throughout Rustico Bay, and upriver as far as New Glasgow. When Mr. Gauthier first started fishing, North Rustico was one of the best harbours on PEI, but silt and sediment have now “basically ruined it”. One example are the buoys he placed in early May 2011, to mark the channel by Robinson’s Island into Rustico Harbour. The buoys were placed in 3 metres (10 feet) of water and, as of August 2011, they were on a sand bar at low tide. He believes that the sand and sediment eroding from Robinson’s Island are moving westward at a rapid pace. • changes in the lobster fishery. He recalls that lobster harvests in recent years have not been as good. Mr. Gauthier believes that this change may have something to do with the temperature of the water. In early August, water temperature had not been any higher than 19 °C (66 °F), with large fluctuations. On August 3rd, during a thunderstorm, the water temperature dipped to 13 °C (56 °F). Typical August water temperatures are at least 21 °C (70 °F) or more. iv Mr. Gary Gallant, Emergency Measures Organization (EMO) Coordinator, North Rustico Fire District, recalls: • storm surges and coastal flooding. Mr. Gallant believes that the December 21, 2010, storm surge at North Rustico was the worst he has seen in his lifetime. He observed 3 to 4 metre (10 to 12 foot) waves hitting the cape near the breakwater. This caused a lot of erosion in the area. The North Rustico EMO barricaded the flooded areas to prevent Figure 4 - Flooding on Harbour View Drive from storm surge vehicles from driving through the salty on December 21, 2010. Doiron’s Fisheries can be seen in the background (photo credit: D. Jardine). water. This stranded 80 residents of Lantern Hill and Rustico Harbour for a period of several hours. The water was 1 metre (3 feet) deep on Harbour View Drive in front of Doiron’s Fisheries (Figure 4). It was the same depth inside the Doiron’s Fisheries building. Water came to within 7.5 metres (25 feet) of the intersection by the post office. The water also reached the 2nd door on the Fire Hall on Riverside Drive. • shoreline erosion, noting that this is Figure 5 - Waves crashing at Rustico Harbour breakwater on especially bad near the breakwater October 5, 2011 (photo credit: D. Jardine). (Figure 5). He is confident that 25 to 30 metres (65 to 100 feet) of shoreline has been lost in this area over the past few years. He thinks that one or two more bad storms will do serious damage to the breakwater, which could have a major impact on access to Rustico Harbour and the shoreline along the lighthouse. The December 21, 2010, storm (Figure 6) caused large size granite rocks to wash away to Robinson’s Island. Figure 6 - Waves hitting the shoreline at North Rustico on December 21, 2010 (photo credit: D.

Load more

  65

Copy Link