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Dredging project will deepen Scituate, Marshfield’s ‘spit’

Posted on June 13, 2019

A long-anticipated dredging project set to start next month at the entrance to the South River is expected to solve issues that have plagued boaters in the area for years.

The river bottom will be dredged from where the North and South Rivers meet, an area known as “The Spit” by locals, south to Trouant Island. The work, scheduled to start July 16, will mark the first time the channel has been dredged since 2006.

“It’s created an area of significant hazard for boaters,” Marshfield Harbormaster Mike DiMeo said. “We understand that it’s the height of boating season, but we didn’t want to go through another season without this being dredged because it’s dangerous for boaters. This is a necessity and it needs to get done before something happens.”

DiMeo says the project is expected to remove about 15,000 cubic yards of sediment from the entrance to the South River. He said water in the area is only about 1½ feet deep at mean low tide now and should be at about 7 feet by the end of the project.

The Scituate and Marshfield harbormasters have been working to secure permits and money for the project since 2012. The work is estimated to cost about $1.1 million, half of which will come from the state. The towns will each contribute 25 percent, or about $277,000 apiece.

“Without a doubt the state’s assistance is what’s making this possible,” DiMeo said. “It would be a lot of money to try to get from town meeting.”

The towns of Marshfield and Scituate will host a boater and resident outreach meeting at 10 a.m. Saturday at the Scituate Maritime Center, 119 Edward Foster Road. Both harbormasters will be there to answer questions about the project, which is expected to be completed by Labor Day.

DiMeo said there will be times during the project when boat traffic is restricted to and from the South River, but dredging is not currently scheduled for the weekends. That could change if weather delays the project, but DiMeo said his and Scituate Harbormaster Stephen Mone’s office will have boats regularly patrolling to keep boaters aware.

The area’s significant shoaling — when waves move sand and sediment to create a shallow spot in a body of water — has impacted public safety, DiMeo said. He said his office receives “quite a few” reports of boats and propellers going aground each year, and that the shallow water makes it hard for harbormasters to navigate their own boats.

“Last year, we had a boat fire near one of the islands off Marshfield and the vessels that were responding could hardly get into the South River,” DiMeo said. “I’s a huge public safety risk and hazard to navigation.”

A similar project removed 10,000 cubic yards of sediment from the river near the Sea Street bridge in 2015. The sediment was used for beach nourishment at Rexhame Beach. The towns looked at using the sediment from the new project for beach nourishment at Humarock in Scituate, but they ultimately decided that it would be dumped offshore.

“We were unable to secure enough easements in Humarock to make the project feasible,” DiMeo said. “We tried our best for beach nourishment, but in the end this project, as far as I’m concerned, is more about correcting the problem of shoaling and vessels going aground.”

Scituate Harbormaster Stephen Mone could not be reached for comment.

Source: patriotledger.com

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