Dredging plan unveiled for Anacostia River

The USACE Baltimore District of has received an application for a Department of the Army permit pursuant to Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899 for a dredging project on the Anacostia River in Washington, DC.

The applicant, the District of Columbia Department of Energy and Environment (DOEE), is requesting authorization to dredge by either hydraulic or mechanical method an approximately 223,444 square foot (5.13 acres) area of the Anacostia River including the sandbar under the Pennsylvania Avenue Bridge, the adjacent Federal Navigation Channel, and the shallow areas near the Anacostia Community Boathouse Association and Seafarers Yacht Club.

Also, the applicant is proposing to dredge to a maximum depth of -3.8 NAV 88 (-2.5 mean lower low water) removing approximately 9,600 cubic yards of material.

An approximately 2,700- feet long and 320- feet wide sandbar exists in the Anacostia River under the Pennsylvania Avenue Bridge extending from the Seafarers Yacht Club to the Washington Yacht Club.

The sandbar interferes with accessibility in the middle of the channel, especially for non-motorized vessels, and overlaps with the Anacostia River Basin Federal Navigation Channel.

The main goal of this project is to improve navigable access and increase boater and other water-based safety within the mentioned areas.