Small project means big impact for local watermen

Описание: (Nat Sound Dredging)
In terms of size and scope, the $788,700 dredging operation at Tylers Beach in Isle of Wight County, Virginia, are relatively small for a Norfolk District, U.S Army Corps of Engineers project.
(Nat Sound Watermen)
But for the people who operate commercial vessels out of this harbor of refuge along the James River, removing the estimated 23,300 cubic yards of material has a huge impact.
“On a half tide you couldn’t get in here with them big boats -- that’s how bad it was,” Payton Jones Jr., Long Time Resident
“We waited out there last fall on a real, real, real low water for three hours before we could get in here,” Lee Flanders, Waterman
Watermen say the inability to get in or out of the harbor hurts them financially, costing them fuel, lost time waiting and in some cases they just simply couldn’t get out.
And as more time passed from the last time the channel was dredged in 1991, conditions worsened.
“Anything from a half tide on down, you have to push these boats through a little channel going across the mud,” Lee Flanders, Waterman
“There were some places even where the material had shoaled up so much that it formed a spit of land if you will that was above high water,” Andy Reid, Construction Project Manager
In recent years, the Corps attempted to dredge this project, but disposal site woes and funding issues kept the plan on the shelf.
In the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, Congress made funds available to dredge the project.
“Without the Sandy money, I can’t tell you where we would be in terms of having the work done. It’s one of these projects where we are lucky to get it done every 20 years or so,” Andy Reid, Construction Project Manager
For the watermen who are in the area, where the funding came from doesn’t matter, they’re just happy to see work being performed.
“We were very happy, very happy,” Lee Flanders, Waterman
Dredging, which should wrap up in mid-January, will bring the channel depth back to about 8 feet, ensuring safe passage to and from the harbor at any time.

From Isle of Wight County, Virginia, Patrick Bloodgood.