Posted on June 10, 2026
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ROCKY RIVER, Ohio — Recreational boating is a massive money-maker in Ohio. According to the Lake Erie Commission, the ships that pass through Lake Erie’s harbors generate $25 billion a year in business revenue and support 160,000 jobs across the state.
A long-awaited dredging project is underway at one of those harbors. Rocky River Harbor is being dredged for the first time in over two decades, a move officials say will improve boating safety, support local commerce and help protect the Lake Erie shoreline.
“We’ve gotten a little over $1 million this year to come out here and take care of some really important work,” U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Construction Branch Chief Matthew Snyder said.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Buffalo District is working with Toledo-based contractor Geo Gradel to complete the project.
Snyder says dredging the harbor for the first time in 22 years will make navigation safer and easier.
“Rocky River is a harbor of safe refuge,” Snyder said. “If there’s a storm on Lake Erie, this is one of those special places where boats can make sure that they’re safe from the storm and then move on to their next destination.”
Rocky River harbor usually requires dredging every five-10 years. The last time the harbor was dredged in 2004, 18,400 cubic yards of material were removed. This summer, 59,000 cubic yards of sediment will be removed from the channel.
“After two decades, obviously, you can imagine how much infill it’s created to where boats now are having to scrape just to get by,” U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Project Engineer Dylan Carr said.
Carr thinks the dredging project will positively affect the area in multiple ways.
“It’s extremely important to the environment, to the recreation in the channel as well as to the local commerce around,” said Carr.
The material that will be removed during this project is largely made up of coarse sand. They will then move the material to an open-lake placement area and a near-shore area east of the harbor. Snyder says this will help protect coastlines along Lake Erie from erosion.
“It’s actually put along the side of the lake in a littoral drift,” said Snyder. “It helps protect beaches and it helps protect our lake shore.”
David Emerman, chief of the Northeast District for the Ohio EPA, said dredged material such as clay and limestone also can be reused in other ways, including at construction sites.
“There’s a lot of uses for dredge material,” said Emerman. “It facilitates our harbors as economic drivers and it creates valuable products.”
The Rocky River dredging project is set to be completed by the end of August.
Officials say the project will help meet the needs of boaters, businesses and communities that rely on the harbor.
“It is such a vital part of northeast Ohio,” Snyder said. “So many people utilize the facilities that are here. We have a project that’s going to meet everybody’s needs.”
