Posted on June 27, 2017
By Tao Woolfe, CapeNews.Net
The Town of Sandwich is looking into dredging Old Harbor to clear excess sand that has drifted and blown there over the years, and to use that sand to help shore up Town Neck Beach.
The proposal for the work was brought to the Sandwich Board of Selectmen on June 15. Although the selectmen seemed receptive, they took no action on the matter.
“The sand that has blown into Mill Creek has caused a huge change to the ecosystem,” said David J. DeConto, assistant director of natural resources. “The shifting sand has suffocated the mollusks. The eider ducks—which feed on mussels—have all disappeared.”
Woods Hole Group, the town’s beach consultant, has suggested a three-phase approach to clearing the sand from the harbor and marsh area. The first phase would involve detailed surveys to determine whether the sand can be removed without causing severe damage to wildlife, and how much sand could safely be removed.
Woods Hole Group would look at “the overall health of the system, the ability for existing channels to convey tidal flow, impacts on shellfish beds, and the beneficial reuse of sediments for shoreline restoration,’’ according to the proposal.
Although the amount of sand acquired from the marsh and harbor would be far less than the 120,000 cubic yards purchased by the town to replenish the beach in 2016, all donations are welcome in the fight to restore and maintain Town Neck Beach, Mr. DeConto said.
Woods Hole Group has said in a previous study that town beach needs about 400,000 cubic yards of sand to become fully re-nourished.
“It would be a good source for sand during the years we don’t receive sand from Cape Cod Canal dredging,” Mr. DeConto said.
Phase I, which would cost about $49,000, would evaluate the existing data, including studies by the town, state, and federal agencies and take a close look at the environmental impact of dredging, the proposal says.
The environmental analysis would include a look at shellfish, bird habitats, any water quality and wetland and vegetation impacts.
Phases II and III—$66,000 and $70,000, respectively—will involve testing, sampling, analyses, providing engineering plans and oversight, and obtaining local, state and federal permits, the proposal says.
“The permitting will take at least a year,” Mr. DeConto said.
Meanwhile the town will continue to pursue the permits needed to “borrow” up to 400,000 cubic yards of sand from Scusset Beach.
The town hopes that during the years the US Army Corps of Engineers dredges the Cape Cod Canal to clear the waterway for boats, the federal agency will deposit the dredged sand on Town Neck Beach. Town officials are also hoping the Army Corps will help transport sand from Scusset Beach to Town Neck.
The Army Corps is looking into the matter.
Source: CapeNews
