Newport to Corps: Dredge It, Then Give It Back
By: Ambrosia Sarabia | Monday, January 28, 2008 12:00:00 AM
The Log
Congressman to introduce legislation giving harbor dredging authority to city.
NEWPORT BEACH — It’s time to get creative. At least that’s the direction the city of Newport Beach is headed, as city officials attempt to eventually get Newport Harbor/Lower Newport Bay its long-overdue maintenance dredging.
Photo by: yachtphotography.com
A Novel Approach — Newport Harbor has long needed dredging, and city officials believe they may have found a way to get it — by taking over responsibility for future maintenance through federal legislation.
The city has been discussing the idea of taking over the responsibility of dredging the lower bay, since Newport Beach has repeatedly been rebuffed in its efforts to get the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to maintain the harbor over which it has jurisdiction.
“To achieve a breakthrough, we are going to have to be creative,” said Mayor Pro-Tem Leslie Daigle. “We appreciate working with our congressman, and we know that maintenance has been deferred for too long.”
Under legislation that will soon be introduced by U.S. Rep. John Campbell, R-Irvine, the federal government would provide the estimated $12 million cost of dredging the Newport Harbor, in exchange for the city agreeing to take responsibility for all future dredging projects.
Maintenance dredging of the Lower Bay is the Corps’ responsibility, but it has not removed the accumulated siltation since Newport Harbor was created in the 1930s. An estimated 900,000 cubic yards of sediment needs to be pulled from the harbor to maintain safe navigation, said city manager Homer Bludau.
“A lot of silt has come through the upper bay and settled in the lower bay, especially on low tide,” Bludau explained. “It has become very problematic for recreational boaters to get around, and we are sorely in need of a dredging project.”
While the Corps has been approached by the city regarding the needed dredging project, recreational harbors currently stand as very low-priority projects, Bludau said.
A Corps-to-city jurisdiction swap would help to finally make the much-needed dredging project a reality, along with allowing the city to assume responsibility for maintenance dredging of the lower bay in the future.
“We don’t know how we are going to get that dredging under way unless we try something that is innovative,” Bludau said.
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