Falmouth Dredging Schedule Announced for 2018

FALMOUTH – The largest challenge confronting the Falmouth Waterways Committee continues to be dredging.  Their upcoming schedule was recently presented to the board of selectmen. 

Committee Chairman Jeffrey Thomas says there is a limited time frame. 

“Problem number one is the time window.  We don’t have twelve months to dredge, we only have four to five months. There’s an aquatic species propagation window where we’re not allowed to dredge from January 15th to June 30th,” he said. 

The town has allotted $100,000 for this year, which will be spread around the Green Pond, Great Pond, and Bournes Pond inlets, as well as the approach to Eel River. 

Thomas expressed his belief that purchasing a town dredge would not be cost-effective due to the short window of time.  They currently use the Barnstable County dredge. 

He also points out that the disposal of the dredged material can be a never ending cycle. 

“No matter what we do for dredging, the issue is where are we going to put the sand?  We put it on the beaches, and this is really a coastal resiliency issue, all that sand on the beaches ends up back, and then we have to dredge again in the future.  That’s not something that’s easy to solve.” 

He added that the percentage of the committee’s time spent doing dredge management is around eighty.  

The town’s 10-year permit allowing it to dredge 14 inlets and 11 beach areas expires at the end of 2022.

 

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