Winnapaug Pond Dredging Plans on Display

The Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Council and the state Department of Environmental Management are accepting public comments on a proposal to dredge a portion of Winnapaug Pond this winter.

The two agencies issued a joint public notice of the project last Friday, December 1. The notice sets a comment period that ends on December 22.

The two phase project is to remove 70,000 cubic yards of sediment from Winnapaug Pond that was deposited by Superstorm Sandy.

The first phase is to remove approximately 20,000 cubic yards of sand from a shoal area and deposit the material on Westerly Town Beach and Wuskeneau Beach.

According to the notice, the second phase is to restore/elevate adjacent marshes to restore severely degraded marshes and make them resilient to sea level rise.

This phase will be performed at a later date as funding becomes available.

The Town Council recently authorized Town Manager, Derrik M. Kennedy, to execute a $971,400 contract with  J.F. Brennan Co. to conduct the dredging and beach replenishment.

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