RESIDENTS’ UTILIZATION OF COASTAL HAZARD ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS THE LONG POINT AREA, LAKE ERIE

Abstract

This paper evaluates how adequately residents have utilized and benefitted from Ontario coastal-hazard assistance programs during the 1972 to 1976 Great Lakes high-water period. Four programs are described and their effectiveness in helping shore-dwellers in the Long Point Bay area of Lake Erie is examined. Data are obtained from a field survey measuring residents’ attitudes toward coastal hazard responsibility and government financial aid, as well as their knowledge about, and utilization of, assistance programs. The study reveals that a majority of residents are: poorly informed about coastal ecological processes, misinformed about lake level fluctuations, and uninformed about assistance programs. As a result, they disregard adverse effects of structural adjustments, blame government for regulating Great Lakes levels, and fail to utilize hazard assistance programs. The programs, while benefitting some residents, encourage expensive structural devices, piecemeal shoreline protection, and stop-gap repair works. Suggestions to help overcome these deficiencies and general approaches to ensure wider and more effective utilization of assistance programs are recommended.