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Breakwall failure could be damaging to homeowners on Sodus Bay

Sodus Point Mayor Dave McDowell says he worries about what will happen to homes along the bay if their break wall breaches.
Veronica Volk
/
WXXI News
Sodus Point Mayor Dave McDowell says he worries about what will happen to homes along the bay if their break wall breaches.
Sodus Point Mayor Dave McDowell says he worries about what will happen to homes along the bay if their break wall breaches.
Credit Veronica Volk / WXXI News
/
WXXI News
Sodus Point Mayor Dave McDowell says he worries about what will happen to homes along the bay if their break wall breaches.

Sodus Point Mayor Dave McDowell looks out at the breakwall that separates Lake Ontario from Sodus Bay.

"There’s huge holes in it," he says. "There’s big sections that are missing now."

The eastern breakwall has been deteriorating under the stress of lake waves for years. McDowell says if it breaches, houses along the bay will be vulnerable to the full force of the lake.

The village of Sodus Point in Wayne County is watching an important piece of their infrastructure deteriorate.

"Water is one of the most powerful forces of nature. And we can only do so much," McDowell says.

The Army Corps of Engineers is planning an assessment of repairs this summer, but they have yet to solidify funding for construction. That will be up to Congress.

Lake Ontario is currently higher than average for this time of year, as it has been for the last two years. McDowell is not sure whether they’ll get repairs before the breakwall is damaged further.

"Who knows?" he questions. "We can’t predict the weather. We don’t know what the winds are going to do."

Copyright 2019 WXXI News

Veronica Volk is the Great Lakes Reporter/Producer for WXXI News, exploring environmental and economic issues, water, and wildlife throughout the region for radio, television, and the web.
Veronica Volk
Veronica Volk is a Reporter/Producer for WXXI News. She comes from WFUV Public Radio, where she began her broadcasting career as a reporter covering the Bronx, and the greater New York City area. She later became the Senior Producer of WFUV’s weekly public affairs show, Cityscape. Originally from Ocean County, New Jersey, Veronica got her B.A. in Communication and Media Studies at Fordham University, concentrating on Media, Culture, and Society.