Posted on December 5, 2016
By Howard Yune, Napa Valley Register
Slowed by a detour out of Napa and mechanical problems, workers dredging the Napa River for the first time in nearly two decades will get two more weeks to try to finish their job.
A group of regional agencies has extended a work permit for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to Dec. 15 as it seeks to clear silt-choked parts of the waterway from Napa to Vallejo. Originally, dredging was to have ended Nov. 30.
Dredging fell behind schedule due to breakdowns caused by rocks and discarded tires, which have fouled barge-mounted equipment, especially in the downtown area. Also, the Corps’ contractor was dispatched to the port of Fort Bragg for a month.
Brenda Goeden, sediment program manager of the San Francisco Bay Conservation & Development Commission (BCDC), announced the extension Wednesday afternoon.
The BCDC is part of a group of regulators including the State Water Resources Control Board, NOAA Fisheries and others that must sign off on out-of-season construction in Bay Area waterways, where wintertime work is restricted to protect migrating fish and other wildlife.
Crew members with Ahtna Design-Build Inc. have had to stop work near downtown to repair pipes and pumps damaged by debris, including rocks washed from upstream and at least 400 tires, according to Pamela Patton, the Corps’ regional project manager.
Source: Napa Valley Register
