Posted on May 25, 2020
On June 1, a Bridgeton, N.J., company will begin dredging miles of the Schuylkill above Fairmount Dam to remove 60,000 cubic yards of sediment that has created hazards for rowers and threatened famed regattas that use the storied racecourse.
In preparation, the docks along Boathouse Row have been removed for the first time in a century.
The Schuylkill Navy, an association for amateur rowing clubs, had been racing to fund the dredge to avoid having regattas canceled because of sediment buildup. Though the effort began years ago, it ran into another block this spring with the coronavirus pandemic shutdown.
“We had so many challenges to mobilize for this job, eight years in the making, then came new challenges,” said Bonnie Mueller, vice commodore of the Schuylkill Navy. “It was a seemingly insurmountable task of pulling together the $4.5 million.”
The Schuylkill Navy announced in May 2019 that it had raised the funds from the city of Philadelphia, the state, local universities that have rowing clubs, the William Penn Foundation, and the rowing and paddling communities, as well as gifts from the public.
Source: The Philadelphia Inquirer
