Patchogue River Dredging Will Be Completed Before Summer in Westbrook, Connecticut

WESTBROOK - This summer, boaters will be able to navigate through a dredged outer portion of the Patchogue River channel thanks to the hard work of the Harbor Management Commission and the Department of Environmental Protection, DEP.

Jim Hunicke, Harbor Management Commission Chairman, said that work has begun on a dredging project that will move 6,000 yards of a slurry mixture, consisting of sand and water, from the channel through pipes to the beach of Grove Beach Point Association.

The work is being performed by Maryland-based DredgeMD.

"The pipes act like a big hose which squirts the water and the sand onto the beach at 1,000 gallons a minute," Hunicke said, adding that the pipes are 8 inches in diameter.

The Grove Beach Point Association has setup jersey barriers and filter paper so that the slurry mixture can be retained when it arrives on their beach.

In the association's March newsletter, Tony Zammitti indicated that the association will pay the cost to spread and dewater the new sand which is expected to cost $10,000 to $15,000 more than what they annually spend to maintain their beach.

Zammitti wrote that it's a good deal for the association since they are receiving $100,000 of beach sand.

While dredging materials were to be barged and dumped at the Cornfield Shoals Disposal Site, Hunicke said residents from Grove Beach Point Association requested that the DEP give permission for the sand to be placed on their beach.

Some residents believe the materials along the channel were once part of Grove Beach Point before it was eroded and told DEP officials that they want their beach back.

While beach replenishment is not a new concept, Hunicke said it has not been used in Connecticut for quite a number of years.

"Beach replenishment is definitely the way to go," Hunicke said, adding that the DEP is working on a project to have dredged materials in the Clinton Harbor be placed along the two miles of beach of Hammonasset Beach State Park in Madison which has slowly lost its sand due to erosion.

In Westbrook, Hunicke believes the cost difference between beach replenishment and hauling out dredging materials is "very little."

Hunicke said he believes the project would cost $77,000 out of a $126,000 dredging account derived from boater registration fees.

The project is expected to add another 1.5 feet of depth at the outer point of the river.

"This will increase the safety of boats going through the channel. Currently, at high tide and half tide, boats can come through the channel but during low tide, if they have a problem navigating, and two boats go aground, it would close the entrance of the channel," Hunicke said.

Hunicke expects the west side of the channel will soon be closed so the project can begin and then reopened before the east side closes and later reopens.

The project is expected to be completed before the May 10 deadline.

When asked how long the dredging will last before silt builds up again, Hunicke said that it is hard to predict.

"For shoaling it could be seven years or as little as two years, it's really weather related since storms would have a huge impact," Hunicke said.