Windsor's mayor wants to know if the city can dredge up a canal that runs through Peche Island to help preserve it.
At issue is sediment that has been building up and clogging the water flow in a canal beneath the legacy bridge on the island, located in the upper Detroit River near the mouth of Lake St. Clair.
Drew Dilkens issued a directive on November 6 under Ontario's strong mayor powers asking city administration to report back to city council before the end of 2025 on the following items related to Peche Island:
- Remaining work that needs to be undertaken to protect Peche Island from further erosion and programs available to offset capital works required.
- Cost and timing to excavate soil that has gathered under the pedestrian bridge, preventing water from accessing inland ponds; and,
- Consult with Port Windsor or other federal authorities to determine how the city can access dredged material to use as fill to elevate certain parts of the island to ultimately allow for a pedestrian circuit around Peche Island.
"If we don't get water flowing into the inland canals there, they will eventually turn into a wetland," he says. "If another council wishes to course correct on that, they will have a very difficult time overriding wetland legislation, so it's something city council needs to consider."
Dilkens says they just need to excavate where the Hiram Walker bridge is to get rid of the sediment that's built up, allowing the water to feed the inland canals.
"Regulatory authorities don't allow that to happen during a fishing spawning season and a whole host of other considerations for wildlife. We need to find that window," he says. "I need council to know what that window is, and I need to know what the cost is, and so does council to decide what kind of priority to apply to save the inland portion of Peche Island."
Dilkens says it's budget season and there will be a dollar amount on this work, so council needs to understand what that looks like.
"Making sure that in the winter we know what the landscape looks like when the weather breaks so that we can make sure we mobilize equipment if the council wishes to move forward. At the end of the day, we'll have one chance to do this; otherwise, it may be a long, long time before those inland canals will ever see water again," he says.
Peche Island is a 79-acre island owned by the City of Windsor and is a municipal park that is accessible by boat.
The island was purchased by Hiram Walker in 1883 before being sold in 1907.
The whisky maker used the island as a summer home, and his buildings included a stable, a large home, a greenhouse, and an icehouse.
The City of Windsor acquired the land from the province of Ontario in 1999 and has worked to protect the property while adding a naturalized island park with walking trails, docking facilities, picnic tables, and a washroom.