Posted on August 26, 2021
NEWBURYPORT — With project bid documents set to be released next month, the planned dredging of sand from the Merrimack and Piscataqua rivers to alleviate erosion at the beach along Reservation Terrace remains on schedule and is expected to begin in October.
In a phone interview, Mayor Donna Holaday said that although there were some snags with the partnership agreement between the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the state Department of Conservation and Recreation and the city over the last several weeks, those issues have since been resolved and the required documents have all been signed.
Once the dredging begins, it’s not clear yet how long it will take. The mayor said more details will be released once the bid documents go through and the contract is awarded.
Holaday also spoke with Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs Kathleen A. Theoharides about a possible back-up plan, if the dredging project is delayed for any reason.
GZA GeoEnvironmental has created a design for wood pilings and coir bags, but that short-term solution has a price tag of $450,000, she said.
Department of Conservation and Recreation officials are hesitant to use funds on this with the dredging project on the horizon.
The mayor shared frustration with their reluctance, saying “it was their lack of response for years” to protect the primary dune that caused this.
The city is also working with several Reservation Terrace homeowners to see if they might meet the criteria to potentially have their properties bought out using Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities grant funding through the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
The mayor called it a “very complicated process” with a lot of unknowns at this time. If these homeowners are found to have met this criteria, the city may move forward with applying for such grant funding.
On the state level, Democratic Sens. Edward Markey and Elizabeth Warren recently submitted a $250,000 federal funding request to the Senate Appropriations Committee for fiscal 2022.
If approved, this funding would allow the Army Corps to conduct a project conditions survey to look into how the rebuilt south jetty at the mouth of the Merrimack River contributed to Plum Island erosion.
The goal of this survey is to review options to alleviate tidal gyre that’s been causing a lot of the erosion, Holaday said.
