Back in October, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Philadelphia District awarded Contract No. W912BU-17-C0043 to Jade Creek Construction, LLC, in the amount of $2,199,856.09. The contract involves dredging Chesapeake City Basin, within the Army Corps’ property limit, in
Chesapeake City, MD, to a depth of 10 feet. (At low tide, parts of the basin are as shallow as three feet deep).
Additional work will occur east of the Basin in the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal. This will encompass a 10,000 linear foot stretch dredged to a depth of 35 feet.
The project is a culmination of a long-term effort between the Army Corps of Engineers and the Maryland Department of the Environment.
Work is scheduled to begin this week, and the Cecil Whig reports that dredge crews arrived on Monday, adding that a Corps spokesman said "the dredging will take about 60 days, weather permitting." Two types of dredge boats are working on the project:
a cutter-suction and a clam shell bucket. The cutter-suction dredge, working inside the basin, has a drill-like head that is dropped down to the basin floor where it churns up the settled sediment and pumps it out through a pipeline. The clam shell bucket dredge, working in the C&D Canal, will drop to the bottom of the canal where it will scoop out sediment for placement into a barge."
Dredge spoils will be sent to the Bethel disposal area, east of Chesapeake City.
Earlier this summer, DNR announced it was awarding $10.5 million in Waterway Improvement Fund grants to improve public boating access and navigation throughout the state. The funding went toward 49 projects in 18 counties. Chesapeake City in Cecicl County received a grant for dredging Back Creek Basin and the town dock/slips. The town had received another grant from the same fund in 2016, but with the Corps approving funds to pay for its portion of the dredging, the DNR funds will not be needed for this project.
Waterfront restaurants and marinas in Chesapeake City Basin are hopeful that the dredging will bring more business.