Posted on October 25, 2021
The South Jersey waterways used by commercial and recreational vessels, like those everywhere, depend on occasional dredging to keep them navigable.
This was done routinely until the environmental awakening in the 20th century called into question simply dumping the material dredged onto land or making islands with it in the back bays and marshes. Soon dredging plans were stymied because the state wouldn’t approve anywhere to put the material removed from channels.
For a couple of decades we’ve urged the state to solve this problem, since the tourism economy, maritime industry and much shore recreation depend on usable waterways.
For a while barrier island municipalities trucked the material to the mainland for placement in locations such as former sand and gravel pits. Even this became difficult. In 2018, Middle Township rejected a former sand mine’s plan to accept dredged material from Ocean City.
The state started experimenting several years ago with beneficial uses for the sediment that is removed from channels to keep them clear. Pilot projects in Cape May and Cumberland counties showed that spraying clean, fine layers of sediment onto salt marshes imitated the gradual accretion of a healthy wetlands system. Since New Jersey’s coastal lands are sinking faster than the sea is rising, this helps keep the marshlands intact to support wildlife and reduce flooding. Channel sediment can also be dewatered and used in projects to counter erosion along bays.
As part of dredging projects now, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers determine which beneficial placement of the dredged material builds coastal resilience while increasing maintenance efficiency and reducing project costs.
One beneficiary of the improved approach is a restoration of the channel across Absecon Bay and into Absecon Creek. By the end of the year the $6.3 million state project will create a channel at least 6 feet deep at low tide out to the Intracoastal Waterway. About 70,000 cubic yards of material will be put into 200 foot long geotextile bags to dewater it.
A project to restore navigation on the Maurice River in Cumberland County is part of proposed federal infrastructure spending and likely to receive its $4 million funding, according to the Corps of Engineers. To unblock the river’s mouth, the Corps will dredge a 150 wide area to 7 feet deep and then a river channel for about 24 miles. The material will be used to help restore wetlands and fend off erosion. The completion of the project, perhaps in 2023, will support the river’s fishing, oyster and ship repair industries.
We’re glad to see and hear the dredge barges working again, especially now that they’re delivering benefits to society and the environment.
