'Biggest amount of water I've seen': Water comes over sea wall at Charlottetown Yacht Club

The storm on Friday resulted in high tides at the Charlottetown waterfront.

At the Charlottetown Yacht Club, the water made its way over the sea wall and quite far onto land.

Steve Murray, the club's commodore, said he would guess the water was about 3 feet, or 91 centimetres, higher than usual.

"It's probably the biggest amount of water I've seen at the yacht club since I've been a member for the last 25 years," he said.

There is a security camera at the club, and from watching it Murray saw that by 11:30 a.m. on Friday the water was at the very top of the sea wall, and within half an hour it was over.

Possibility of damage

The yacht club doesn't have a basement, which Murray said is lucky.

"You can see the damage it can do."

He said they will assess damages once the tide goes out, but he anticipates they will have to redo some of the interlaced brick used for a walkway. 

Murray said the old Lord's wharf will need repairs, as it has for awhile, but to completely repair it would likely be over $1 million.

"[The wharf] has sheet steel pilings that are completely eroded and I imagine there will be a lot of washout as the water leaves that wharf."

Part of a bigger problem

Murray said this water level is rare, but from what he's learned in a recent study that predicts flood risk along the harbour in 2045 and 2090, it won't be unusual in the future. 

He said the club isn't the only structure at risk, so is the entire western boundary of the waterfront. He said the most obvious solution, raising land identified in the study by at least a metre, would be expensive and time consuming.

Murray said the City of Charlottetown, the province and the federal government are going to have to address the issue of the weakening sea wall and the potential for flooding.

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