Saugatuck Harbor dredging to commence next week

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Detroit District is about begin dredging 68,000 cubic yards of sediment from Saugatuck Harbor, Michigan, next week to ensure safe navigation between Lake Michigan and the Kalamazoo River.

The King Company, of Holland, is contracted to complete the work for $341,000, after completing dredging in Muskegon under the same awarded contract totaling $1.4 million.

The channel entrance will be dredged to 16 feet below low water datum. Sand will be placed along the shore for about a mile from the Saugatuck South Pier southward through Oval Beach.

“This project is a great example of using a maintenance dredging as a vehicle to combat erosion and provide multiple positive outcomes for the community in Saugatuck,” said Liz Newell Wilkinson, operations manager at the Grand Haven Office of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Detroit District. “We have worked with the state of Michigan to ensure this sediment is environmentally safe to nourish the Lake Michigan shoreline.”

According to the Corps, dredging is tentatively scheduled to be completed July 19, though weather delays may impact the deadline.