Posted on September 14, 2026
The United States Army Corps of Engineers Buffalo District announced Thursday it wrapped up dredging of the Conneaut Harbor in ten days.
The annual cycle had approximately $4.1 million allocated to dredge around 75,000 cubic yards of material from the Conneaut harbor. Work started Sept. 1.
Army corps Buffalo District Lieutenant Colonel Aaron Anderson said the dredging was an efficient stewardship of its funding.
According to the release, authorized depths within Conneaut Harbor range from eight to 29 feet, with the shallowest depths in the access channel and the deepest in the outer harbor.
The harbor handled 3.7 million tons of cargo in 2023.
The city’s harbor has won the Robert J. Lewis Pacesetter Award for increases in tonnage over shipping seasons three times in the last several years.
Conneaut City Manager Nick Sanford said he understood the corps ran quite an efficient operation, and was appreciative for their work.
Conneaut Dredge Facility Superintendent Brian Bidwell said usually the corps’ dredging takes a week and a half to two weeks.
“I feel like they might’ve been a little bit quicker this year, maybe by one day,” he said.
The timeliness of dredging can depend on the crew and many other factors, Bidwell said.
Originally, funding was only allocated for dredging 10,000 cubic yards, but more was allocated after city leaders reached out to Congressman David Joyce.
Bidwell was happy to see the increased allocation, he said.
“I mean 10,000 [cubic yards], number one it wouldn’t have been good for the harbor, nor the city,” he said.
The dredge facility is operating well, Bidwell said.
“We had a small problem last year, where some pipes eroded out,” he said. “That all seems to be holding.”
Bidwell said he hopes the water will be of high enough quality to be discharged next week.
“It’s approximately 13 million gallons worth,” he said.
Most of the dredged material will likely be used by Canadian National, Bidwell said.
The city and Kurtz Brothers, the contractor that operates the city dredge reclamation facility, are playing around with manufacturing topsoil from the dredged material and selling it, he said.
“None of that is proven or tested or any of that good stuff, but that’s what our hope would be as we move into the future that we are producing a material for less [cost],” Bidwell said.
