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The Oswego County Legislature recently awarded the Sandy Pond Channel Maintenance Association (SPCMA) $300,000 in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to ensure continued navigation from Sandy Pond to Lake Ontario and safeguard the local economy, which relies heavily upon fishing and summer tourism.
The funding will help the SPCMA continue its mission of dredging portions of Sandy Pond to secure a safe boating route from the pond to Lake Ontario, the County said.
The continued navigability of the channel is critical to water-based activities in the area and important to the local tax base.
“This is the only pathway between Lake Ontario and Sandy Pond, and its continued navigability is essential to the local economy,” said Oswego County Legislator Michael Yerdon , District 1. “It’s important that this channel remains open to support tourism and other economic activity, and I’m pleased the Legislature was able to provide ARPA funding for this project.”
In addition to its impact on the economy, Yerdon said that without the dredging activities, drainage from North Pond into Lake Ontario would be reduced and the water quality of Sandy Pond would suffer.
SPCMA President Cathy Goodnough added that the county’s ARPA funds would be used in conjunction with other funding streams to keep the channel between North Sandy Pond and Lake Ontario in “a safe and navigable condition.”
Dredging activities, carried out by BDS Construction, will also help rebuild the barrier dunes and beaches in the region that protect local homes and businesses.