Lynn Lau
Northern News Services

Tuktoyaktuk (May 20/02) - The northern portion of the hamlet is sinking into the sea, and even the best erosion protection will only slow the process, according to two new reports.

The hamlet has been losing ground to shoreline erosion since it was established as a permanent settlement in the 1930s. The latest studies incorporate maps of the many meters of coastline lost since 1950, and they project the expected losses of buildings in years to come.

The two reports -- the first by scientist Steven Solomon with the Geological Survey of Canada, and the other by EBA Engineering Consultants, were submitted to the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs last month.

Based on the projections, Tuktoyaktuk can expect to lose up to 15 buildings on the western side of the peninsula within the next 25 years.

Most of the buildings are houses owned by the Tuktoyaktuk Housing Association, but the vulnerable area also includes the adult learning centre and two privately owned homes. The cemetery, on slightly higher ground, is only slightly beyond the 25-year erosion line.

Although the studies focused primarily on the peninsula, Ken Johnson, the land use planner who prepared the EBA report, also notes that Tuktoyaktuk Island is also eroding and could be completely washed over within 25 to 50 years. The island is not inhabited, but it serves to shield much of Tuktoyaktuk from the open ocean. Without it, the previously protected areas of the town would become vulnerable.

"It's generally felt that even with the best erosion protection, erosion is going to continue," Johnson says. "The community really has to come to grips with what this means.

Its implications are fairly significant for the community if they remain consistent with their desire to protect the shoreline."

Decades of erosion

One of the homes that falls within the 25-year erosion zone is Lucy Cockney's. The school teacher says she isn't surprised about the findings of the report -- she's seen the ocean come closer and closer to the house since she and her husband bought the place in the early 1980s.

Recent additions of rock and rip rap seem to have stemmed erosion in the last couple years, but Cockney is matter-of-fact about the fact that the ocean is slowly claiming her home.

"If they can do something about it, fine," she says. "But if they can't, life is life. I'm concerned about it, for sure. Not only me -- there's lots of them down that end, but what can we do? I think we just hope and pray that something can be done."

Her sentiments are echoed by other residents of the western shore. Warren Steen, a 25-year-old mechanic, says he doesn't think erosion control will be able to protect the shore forever, although he believes most of the town will still be safe -- for his lifetime anyway.

"You can't stop Mother Nature. If she's going to throw a storm, she's going to throw a storm. There's been erosion within the last 20 years, but it hasn't been so much that it would scare us to move the town."

Money sink

Since 1975, well over a million dollars has been spent on shoreline studies, sandbags, rock and other reinforcements. In the 1980's an oil company donated expensive concrete mats to use at the northern tip. This year alone, Municipal and Community Affairs gave the hamlet $144,450 to haul rock from Inuvik to lay on the beach.

It all helps, but Johnson says that to be most effective, the entire shoreline needs to be protected, not just segments of it. The most effective reinforcement seems to be the most expensive -- interlocking concrete mats, which would cost more than $9 million to build and maintain.

An earlier report, prepared by UMA Engineering in 1994 estimated it would cost just $1.5 million for the gradual relocation of the community.

Future unclear

So far, the hamlet hasn't discussed moving the town site, although it has taken steps to regulate building in the flood and erosion risk areas.

"We're going to stand our ground as long as we can," says Mayor Eddie Dillon. "That's been our position for a long time because we've got a lot of history and heritage at that end of the community."

As recently as last year, the hamlet approved the construction of a $1.8 million elders home on the western shore of the peninsula, on a portion of land that the 1994 UMA report suggested was unsuitable for new developments.

The two latest reports are being reviewed by the planning committee and hamlet council will be considering its implications in coming months. "I don't think we can solve it overnight," Dillon says. "We've been talking about it for 20 years now, trying to find some way to respond correctly."

If the conclusions of the latest reports are any indication, there will be some tough decisions ahead for the community. With limited public dollars, the community and the territorial government will have to decide how much money can be diverted from other areas to save the shoreline.

A survey completed by EBA Consulting showed that most residents want to continue living on the northern side of town, which is still the hub of the community.

Persis Gruben, 83, has lived in Tuktoyaktuk all her life. She says it will always be her home.

"The people don't like to move from where they stay," she says. "There's good fishing in the summer and a good harbour."