Progress on Parker’s River Dredging: Updates, Challenges, and Next Steps
Dredging started on November 11th. Due to previous permitting delays, just the northern part of the channel was dredged in 2022, then in 2023 the southern part and the area outside of the breakwater was dredged. This year the channel from Station 5+00 to Station 22+50 (see Pre-Dredge Plan Below) is being dredged with a target volume of 8,500 Cubic Yards.
The sand dredged from the channel is being placed on Sea Gull Beach. Due to the fine composition of the sand in the northern part of the channel, a ‘diffuser’ was attached to the discharge end of the pipe (see below) to aid in distributing the sand on the beach and to minimize the heavy flow of the water as it leaves the pipe with the intent of building up the sand in one area.
As the Cod Fish II moves to the south and leaves the protection of the inner jetties, the sea conditions start to limit the days that dredging can occur. In this area, any wind above 15 knots from the East to the West (090 to 270) will cause a swell to build which restricts the operation of the dredge as the ‘cutterhead’ (the part that touches the bottom and rotates lifting the sand off the bottom through the pipe – see pic below) will come up off the bottom as the dredge goes up and down with the swell.
To date, we have lost four days due to sea conditions, and one due to the crew being needed at our other project in Cotuit to help move pipe, leaving ten days of dredging since the start. The estimated total volume dredged to date is 5,400 Cubic Yards.
It’s estimated that we need seven more days to complete this project – not including delays due to weather, mechanical breakdowns and or stopping to fuel.
