All of the recent discussions about the current state of Peche Island are based on nothing more than a coincidence, according to one project engineer.
Sean Hartigan, a frequent visitor, told AM800's The Dan MacDonald show last week that sand and gravel piled up from work on the bridge last year is blocking water from going under the bridge and impacting the water flow with the current.
Daniel Krutsch, with Landmark Engineers Inc. who did the work on the island, says nothing in particular has caused the situation, as it's a condition that has occurred many times in the past.
"Typically it's a function of water levels, wave climate and recent storm events," he continued. "There was work done on the Peche Island bridge, but all the work on the bridge occurred above the stream bed that the bridge crosses."
Other than placing some granular filled bags on both sides of the bridge so that they could de-water under the bridge, he says there was really nothing done to the stream bed.
Krutsch says there has been a condition that has reoccurred which is largely the product of completely natural forces.
"We've had two and a half years of high water levels as everybody knows in the lakes, and that's accelerated erosion on the north east shore of Peche Island. That material that erodes, a good portion of it is sands and gravel that falls into the near shore area and are moved around by the waves."
He explained that as the material moves down the shoreline it encounters an inlet, washes into the inlet, and once that happens it starts as a sand bar but then it emerges which is what has really cut off the flow from the interior of the island.
Krutsch says ultimately, it's just a complete coincidence what has happened.
"I can understand the perception for somebody who maybe doesn't understand those coastal processes and what's going on. And maybe isn't even that familiar with what has happened in the last 10 to 15 years. So it's a complete coincidence and it's unfortunate," he stated.
A similar situation happened in 2013 and again in 2016, when water levels were also low, and Krutsch expects that it will return to how it was eventually but it's subject to water levels and other natural phenomenon.
- with files from AM800's The Dan MacDonald Show