Posted on March 25, 2024
The Barnstable County dredge has changed tack and will complete at least two days of dredging in the Popponesset Bay approach channel in Mashpee before moving to Falmouth, dredge program director Kenneth Cirillo said yesterday, March 21.
The dredge is currently in Mashpee, and weather will determine when the team can finish up and move west to Falmouth, Mr. Cirillo said. The dredge crew was unable to start work in Mashpee on Wednesday and Thursday, but Mr. Cirillo hoped to begin dredging the approach channel today, March 22.
The dredge could potentially leave for Falmouth Tuesday or Wednesday, he said, but the process is forecast-dependent.
The dredge had initially planned to move from Sandwich to Falmouth and then head to Mashpee. But the pipe needed for dredging was laid along the Popponesset Spit in Mashpee to protect the dune, Mr. Cirillo explained, and could not be mobilized without using the dredge itself. Due to weather, it made sense for the dredge to stay in Mashpee and work in the channel before heading to Falmouth, Mr. Cirillo said.
The dredge will not return to Mashpee, he explained.
Three days of dredging would be more than enough to complete Mashpee’s approach channel project, Mr. Cirillo said, but two days is the minimum. He noted there was a 99 percent chance dredging would not be possible on Saturday; the crew would try again on Sunday if that was the case.
In Falmouth, waterways waiting on dredging include the interior of the Great Pond Channel, the inlet between the jetties, Green Pond Inlet and the approach to Bournes Pond. The dredge plans to tackle Bournes Pond, Green Pond and Great Pond in that order, Mr. Cirillo said. Mr. Cirillo guessed the Green Pond and Great Pond locations would take roughly one day to dredge. Bournes Pond was to-be-determined, he said, depending on the area and survey results.
