Posted on February 13, 2023
Sandwich Town Manager George H. (Bud) Dunham gave the board of selectmen some bad news about sand on Thursday night.
For several years, the town has been asking the US Army Corps of Engineers to dump the sand from the Corps’ periodic dredging of the Cape Cod Canal onto Sandwich’s eroding beach.
The town also asked that the sand the Corps has promised to dredge from Scusset Beach—to replenish Sandwich’s sand-starved shoreline—be done at the same time as the canal dredging.
But the Army Corps told Mr. Dunham during meetings this week that the Corps would not be able to synchronize the dredging projects; that the Scusset dredging would not take place for at least one year; and that the amount of sand from the canal and from Scusset will not be as voluminous as originally promised.
“It’s so frustrating,” Mr. Dunham said.
Mr. Dunham urged the selectmen to push back against the Army Corps’ refusal via letters to the Corps; and requests to state legislators to pressure the Corps into changing its mind.
