Posted on July 23, 2018
By Frank Kummer, Philly.com
Will universities help pay to dredge the Schuylkill where their crews row and race?
The organization overseeing rowing on the Schuylkill says all hope for federal funding to dredge in front of Boathouse Row has been dashed and that it is turning to “Plan B.”
The Schuylkill Navy is asking six universities with rowing programs to help raise up to $4.5 million to dredge about 3.5 miles of river from the Fairmount Dam to above Strawberry Mansion Bridge. The Schuylkill Navy, a collection of rowing clubs, says it needs to act quickly or risk losing regattas to other venues, such as Camden County’s Cooper River or Mercer Lake near Princeton.
That key portion of the river hasn’t been dredged since 1999 when 30,000 cubic yards of silt was hauled away. Since then, silt has once again returned, creating shallow waters in at least two of six lanes of the national course used in such storied regattas as Dad Vail and Stotesbury Cup. All lanes should be of equal depth for a fair race. Now, for example, lane six is about two feet deep, while other lanes are 10 feet deep.
The rowers have been seeking funding since 2014, but ran out of options for the upcoming 2019 budget after dredging did not appear on the list of approved U.S. Army Corps of Engineers projects. In fact, the corps confirmed there would be no funding available in the future because its focus is on waterways used for commercial purposes. The agency considers rowing a recreational activity even though its regattas bring millions of dollars into the city.
Source: Philly.com
