The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), New England District, has just released more details about a dredging plan for the Wareham Harbor Federal Navigation Project (FNP) in Wareham, Massachusetts.
USACE is proposing to mechanically dredge approximately 58,000 cubic yards (cy) of predominately silty material with small amounts of sand (approximately 600 cy), from the federal channel.
Dredging will take approximately three to four months to complete with 24/7 operations (working 24 hours per day and 7 days per week) and will be limited to a period between September 15 and January 15 of the year(s) in which funding becomes available.
The Wareham Harbor FNP consists of a 2.4-mile-long channel between the mouth of the river and the Route 6 bridge.
The channel is authorized to a depth of 9 feet Mean Lower Low Water (MLLW) plus 1-foot allowable over-depth and is and is comprised of several reaches of varying widths to include the 125-ft wide entrance channel through Cromeset Neck Reach, 125-ft wide Quahaug Bar Reach, 250-ft wide Parkwood Beach Reach, and the 100-ft wide Inner Harbor Reach adjacent to the Wareham waterfront.
The purpose of this work is to restore the Wareham Harbor FNP to its authorized dimensions and to provide safe navigation conditions to all vessels in the harbor.
Recent surveys of the project area indicate that portions of the channel have been reduced to depths of as little as 3.4 feet MLLW. Given these conditions and 2 current vessel drafts, shoaling within the project is limiting navigation, said USACE.
Aside from safety concerns, the harbor serves as one of the town’s major economic drivers and is a tourist hub.