Harbor District moves forward with Surfers Beach dredging

The dredging and eelgrass mitigation will cost the Harbor District $5.3 million, a cost commissioners approved at their May 22 meeting. A grant from the Ocean Protection Council will directly apply $2.8 million to those construction costs.

Commissioners also approved the $1.7 million cost of monitoring the project before, during and up to five years after construction. That data collection could be important to pursuing larger dredging projects funded by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in the future, consultant Brad Danitz said.

“Not only will they learn from the project, [but] it will also inform the district on the potential to do projects like this, ideally funded by the Army Corps,” he said.

The Harbor District Board also emphasized the importance of keeping locals and neighbors involved in the process and aware of any closures of the beach area, local trails and roads. The impact to the community will be as minimal as possible, Danitz assured commissioners.

“We’ve tailored the technical specifications very carefully to avoid, as much as possible, impact to public use [and] boat launch ramps,” he said.

A public meeting on the project is forthcoming, Danitz said, and commissioners also floated the idea of various email lists, public poster boards at the construction site and a website to keep community members up to date.

“Whenever anybody is impacted, we will be planning well ahead and making sure everybody knows,” Harbor District Operations Director John Moren said.

Construction for the dredging project is expected to be complete by Oct. 15. Other deadlines — including for the eelgrass replanting, which must be completed by Aug. 15 — must be met to ensure a successful habitat transition.

The biologists working on the project are amenable to student volunteers helping with that replanting process over the summer, Danitz said.