Milford Harbor Dredging on the Table

At the request of the city of Milford, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New England District is proposing maintenance dredging of portions of the Milford Harbor Federal Navigation Project.

The proposed work involves removal of approximately 14,000 cubic yards of sandy material from portions of the 10-foot channel of the Federal navigation project in Milford Harbor.

“Natural shoaling processes and storm events have reduced available depths in the 10-foot-deep entrance channel in Milford Harbor to as shallow as –1 foot mean lower low water,” said Project Manager Jack Karalius, of the Corps’ New England District, Programs and Project Management Division in Concord, Mass. “Given these conditions and current vessel drafts, shoaling within the project is limiting safe navigation.”

According to the Corps, without dredging, channel conditions will continue to deteriorate, which will deter and/or interfere with the use of the river and harbor by recreational and commercial vessels.

When the necessary approvals are received, maintenance dredging will be completed by the government-owned special purpose dredge, the Currituck, or a similar dredge.

The dredged material will be placed in the nearshore environment, in an area approximately 1,500 feet long by 1,000 feet wide, off of Bayview Beach in Milford, approximately one mile to the east.

An Environmental Assessment for this work is being prepared and will be available for review upon request. The material to be dredged has undergone physical and chemical analyses.

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