Hamilton West Harbour Shoreline & Breakwater Class Environmental Assessment Environmental Study Report Prepared by Dillon Consulting Limited 11-5710 April 17th, 2013 Hamilton West Harbour Shoreline and Breakwater Class Environmental Assessment: Environmental Study Report, April 17, 2013 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ......................................................................................................... i 1.0 INTRODUCTION ...............................................................................................................1 2.0 BACKGROUND .................................................................................................................2 3.0 STUDY APPROACH ..........................................................................................................8 3.1. Evaluation Criteria ...............................................................................................................9 4.0 EXISTING CONDITIONS ................................................................................................10 4.1. Natural Environment ..........................................................................................................10 4.2. Public Access, Parks and Open Space ...............................................................................14 4.2.1. Public Access .........................................................................................................14 4.2.2. Parks and Open Space Areas .................................................................................15 4.3. Land Use/Technical ...........................................................................................................15 4.3.1. Municipal Infrastructure ........................................................................................15 4.3.2. Marine Facilities ....................................................................................................15 4.3.3. Shore Facilities and Water Levels .........................................................................16 4.3.4. On-Water Facilities ................................................................................................19 5.0 PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION (Class EA Phase 1) ........................................................20 6.0 PUBLIC CONSULTATION .............................................................................................21 6.1. Consultation for the Shoreline and Breakwater .................................................................21 6.1.1. Stakeholder Meetings.............................................................................................21 6.1.2. Public Information Centres ....................................................................................21 6.1.3. Communication ......................................................................................................22 6.2. Consultation for Hamilton West Harbour Waterfront Recreation Master Plan .…………23 6.3. First Nations Consultation .................................................................................................24 6.4. Comments Received ..........................................................................................................25 7.0 SHORELINE IMPROVEMENTS .....................................................................................45 7.1. Shoreline Alternative Solutions (Class EA Phase 2) .........................................................45 7.1.1. Shoreline Structure Alternative Solutions .............................................................45 7.1.2. Shoreline Flood Hazards Alternative Solutions .....................................................45 7.2. Shoreline Design Concepts ................................................................................................56 8.0 BREAKWATER IMPROVEMENTS ...............................................................................70 8.1. Breakwater Alternative Solutions (Class EA Phase 2) ......................................................70 8.1.1. Breakwater Alternative Solutions ..........................................................................70 8.1.2. Breakwater Evaluation and Preferred Solution......................................................71 8.2. Breakwater Alternative Design Concepts (Class EA Phase 3) ..........................................75 8.2.1. Coastal Assessment ................................................................................................75 8.2.2. Breakwater Design Alternatives ............................................................................77 8.2.3. Breakwater Layout Alternatives ............................................................................78 9.0 POTENTIAL EFFECTS AND PROPOSED MITIGATION ............................................86 9.1. Proposed Shoreline and Breakwater Improvement............................................................86 9.2. Potential Effects and Mitigation ........................................................................................92 10.0 FUTURE APPROVAL REQUIREMENTS ......................................................................97 Dillon Consulting Limited Page iii Hamilton West Harbour Shoreline and Breakwater Class Environmental Assessment: Environmental Study Report, April 17, 2013 List of Tables Table 3.1: Evaluation Criteria ....................................................................................................................... 9 Table 6.1: First Nations Consultation Activities ......................................................................................... 24 Table 6.2: Summary of Comments Received on the Proposed Breakwater and Shoreline Improvements 26 Table 7.1: Evaluation of Shoreline Structure Improvement Solutions ....................................................... 49 Table 7.2: Evaluation of Alternative Flood Hazard Improvement Solutions ............................................ 52 Table 7.3: Shoreline Characteristics and Proposed Improvements by Reach ............................................ 60 Table 8.1: Evaluation of Breakwater Types ................................................................................................ 73 Table 8.2: Evaluation of Breakwater Design .............................................................................................. 82 Table 8.3: Evaluation of Breakwater Layout .............................................................................................. 84 Table 9.1: Shoreline Cost Estimate by Reach ............................................................................................ 89 Table 9.2: Summary of Effects and Mitigation .......................................................................................... 94 List of Figures Figure 2.1: Hamilton West Harbour Concept Plan ....................................................................................... 6 Figure 3.1: Municipal Class EA Process ..................................................................................................... 8 Figure 4.1: Existing Conditions ................................................................................................................. 11 Figure 4.2: Natural Environment ............................................................................................................... 12 Figure 4.3: Shoreline Conditions ............................................................................................................... 18 Figure 7.1: – Shoreline Reaches – Macassa Bay ...................................................................................... 56 Figure 8.1: Directional Distribution of Wave Energy and Wave Heights (Full year) ............................... 76 Figure 8.2: Exceedance of Wave Height and Period (Full year) ............................................................... 76 Figure 8.3: A-Frame Breakwater ............................................................................................................... 77 Figure 8.4: Concrete Pontoon Breakwater ................................................................................................. 77 Figure 8.5: Option 1 – North East Facing Entrance Breakwater Concept ................................................. 79 Figure 8.6: Option 2 – North West Facing Entrance Breakwater Concept ................................................ 80 List of Appendices Appendix A Phase 1 Technical Report - Existing Conditions, Issues and Opportunities Summary of Underwater Inspection Appendix B Consultation Materials: Stakeholder meeting notes Notices Display panels Comments received Appendix C Shoreline Cross Sections Appendix D Wave Climate Assessment Dillon Consulting Limited Page iv Hamilton West Harbour Shoreline and Breakwater Class Environmental Assessment: Environmental Study Report, April 17, 2013 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The City of Hamilton has completed this Environmental Study Report to address two separate projects: West Harbour Shoreline Improvements; and West Harbour Breakwater Improvements. These two projects, while separate, have been documented in the same report, as the technical work and consultation were completed simultaneously. Work on this project began in 2006 as part of the Hamilton West Harbour Waterfront Recreation Master Plan (WHRMP), a follow-up to the Setting Sail planning process. The Hamilton West Harbour Waterfront Recreation Master Plan concluded in April 2010 with a Harbour West Concept to