DNREC crews dredging Assawoman Canal

Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) has begun dredging activities along the Assawoman Canal.

The state-managed waterway that connects large water bodies (Indian River Bay and Little Assawoman Bay) recently received many complaints about shoaling.

The project will address shoaling throughout the entire 3.94 miles of the canal, near Bethany Beach Ocean View, and South Bethany Sussex County.

According to Marianne Walch, science and restoration coordinator for the Delaware Center for the Inland Bays, spoils from this dredging activity will be used to increase the resiliency of the salt marshes, but “first we must first test the sediment to be sure it is suitable for re-use as a marsh building material”.

When fully complete – dredging to be wrapped up by spring 2023 – the Assawoman Canal will be restored to a depth of 3 feet below MLLW.