One of the largest Martha’s Vineyard navigational projects in recent years is about to start in October, when work begins to dredge the length of the Menemsha Creek channel from the Vineyard Sound entrance into Menemsha Pond. The work is intended to provide a safe passage into the pond anchorage, designated a harbor of refuge.
One offshoot of the work will be approximately 60,000 cubic yards of sandy sediment, which will be pumped to replenish sand lost to erosion and storm damage along Lobsterville Beach in Aquinnah.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Work last week announced it had awarded a $2,170,798 contract to J-Way Southern Inc., of Avon, Ohio, to complete the dredging work. Work on the federal navigation project (FNP) is scheduled to start on or about Oct.1, and take about 12 weeks to complete.
The work was scheduled to begin in October 2014, but delays in securing the necessary state and federal permits pushed the project back one year.
The Army Corps is authorized to dredge the channel, last dredged in the early ’70s, to a depth of eight feet at low mean tide and a width of 80 feet from between the jetties that protect the Menemsha Harbor entrance, past West Basin and the red nun channel marker, and past Long Point, known locally as Picnic Point, into Menemsha Pond.
Money for the project comes from a $50 billion relief bill for areas damaged by Hurricane Sandy.
Earlier this year, the Army Corps completed a separate project to repair the jetties on either side of the channel.
“The project consists of maintenance dredging the federal navigation project at Menemsha Creek,” said Craig Martin, Army Corps project manager for the New England District, Programs/Project Management Division in Concord. “Approximately 60,000 cubic yards of sandy sediment will be dredged from the 10-foot entrance channel, eight-foot navigation channel, and six-foot anchorage by hydraulic cutterhead dredge.”
Work will not include dredging the 10-foot anchorage, where there is extensive submerged aquatic vegetation which cannot be disturbed or damaged under Massachusetts state permit requirements, the Army Corps said in a press release.
The sandy dredge material will be pumped via pipeline to Lobsterville Beach in Aquinnah, about 1.5 miles by water route to the west of the federal navigation project, the Army Corps said. The six-foot anchorage requiring maintenance dredging is approximately 1.5 acres in size.
Safe refuge
The federal government owns the channel that leads into Menemsha Pond, designated a federal harbor of refuge where boats may seek shelter in the event of a storm. In 1945, Congress authorized periodic maintenance dredging and repairs to the jetty to insure safe passage of vessels seeking refuge from storms. The Army Corps says parts of that channel have shoaled to depths of less than three feet, creating hazardous conditions for commercial and sport fishermen as well as recreational boaters.
Early in the project, the Army Corps sought to engage the main pond stakeholders, the towns of Aquinnah and Chilmark, and the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah). While the Army Corps did not require local approval to move forward, it prefers it.
Navigating the political waters proved tricky. The town of Aquinnah and the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) both favored the dredging project, as a way to improve the health of the pond by increasing water circulation, and to allow vessels access to Menemsha Pond.
Chilmark officials worried about the effect on the scallop fishery and the potential for more and larger boats to use the federally designated channel to enter the pond. However, those town concerns were not enough to outweigh the Army Corps mandate to protect navigation through the federal channel.
Brett Stearns, director of the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) natural resources department, has played a pivotal role in support of the project.
Mr. Stearns said the natural resources department has plans to continue to enhance the scallop fishery in the pond, which is expected to benefit from improved circulation.
“I’m pleased that we’re moving forward,” Mr. Stearns said. “I think it is essential, not only the maintenance of the watershed but for access for vessels.”