Dredging is a proactive and environmentally responsible method of nurturing and protecting Cape Cod’s waterways. The benefits of dredging include returning a waterway to a healthy ecological state, preserving an economic asset for Cape Cod, and securing the boating public’s safety.

Check out these facts about the Barnstable County Dredge Program!

  • Fourteen out of fifteen towns on the Cape use the County’s Dredge services (except for Brewster as they do not have any harbors or channels along their coast). 
  • The demand for dredging on Cape Cod has increased in recent years due to climate change implications, annual sand dynamics brought about by seasonal storms, as well as the availability of additional state grant funding (MA Dredge) for projects. There has also been interest in the dredging of freshwater ponds. 
  • Barnstable County’s Dredge program completed its 25th season of dredging on Cape Cod on June 30th, 2021 
  • The Dredge program started in 1996 with the purchase of the first cutterhead suction dredge. the Cod Fish I has been in service up through the 2019 season,  and was recently sold as the repairs required were too costly.
  • The Sand Shifter was added in 2017 followed by the Cod Fish II in 2019, both of which are cutterhead suction dredges1 
  • The Dredge program is critical for our region because it helps maintain the changing coastal landscape while protecting its environmental and economic vitality in addition to offering each town a significant cost savings.  
  • The 2020 – 2021 season saw 150,591 Cubic Yards dredged, a County Dredge Program Record!  
  • 2021 – 2022 Dredge Season Update
  • Total Cubic Yards Dredged: 85,874
  • Number of towns with dredge projects completed last season: 7  
  • The Smallest project completed last season was in Green Pond Approach Channel, Falmouth: 610 CY 
  • Largest project this year, Stage Harbor Approach Channel, Chatham: 18,346 CY 
  • Longest run of pipe this season, Stage Harbor Approach Channel to Harding’s Beach, Chatham: 6,711′ or 1.3 miles of pipe 
  • Savings for each town and taxpayers as compared to using a private dredging contractor – $6,000,000