USACE holds ‘Sand Breaking’ event in Newburyport, MA

Officials from the Army Corps, New England District took part in a “Sand Breaking” event Oct. 31, 2022, on Plum Island in Newburyport, MA.

During the event, the officials provided information on the maintenance dredging of Newburyport Harbor and the beach nourishment project on the North Point.

As reported by the Corps, the Newburyport maintenance dredging operations began in early October and are expected to be completed by March 31, 2023.

The sand is being hydraulically dredged from the harbor and placed directly on the beach via pipeline to provide immediate protection to the most critical at-risk sections of the Plum Island and to reestablish and protect public beach, public infrastructure and private homes.

This maintenance dredging effort involves the removal of about 220,000 cubic yards (cy) of sandy material that has shoaled areas of the 9-foot-deep Mean Low Water (MLW), 200-foot-wide inner harbor channel, and the 15-foot-deep MLW, 400-foot-wide entrance channel.

The work will maintain the authorized dimensions of the Newburyport Harbor federal channels to ensure safe and reliable navigation through the area for commercial fishing vessels, U.S. Coast Guard operations, recreational boating, and all other users of the Harbor.