As of 12:25 PM Friday February25, 2011, the Town of Southern Shores successfully completed actual dredging operations for this year in its Town-owned canal system. The Town’s current contractor, Byrd Brothers Emergency Services, LLC of Wilson, NC, began dredging operations Fall of 2010 on behalf of the Town. An earlier dredging attempt under a contract awarded September 21, 2009 was discontinued. Byrd Brothers sub-contracted with ADI Marine of Minot, North Dakota to perform the actual dredging. ADI Marine contracted with WaterSolve, LLC of Grand Rapids, Michigan to perform the actual water-spoil separation process.
The Town has now successfully completed the dredging of specific canals allowed by the permit issued by the State. 2.5 miles of canals, or one-third of the entire system, were successfully dredged to control depths allowable by the permit. The dredging season in North Carolina typically runs from November 1-February 15 by State regulation.
The Town’s Project Manager, Tom Bennett, stated “This is the largest project ever undertaken by our Town. It involved the construction of two large settlement basins with a combined capacity of 5 million gallons of water. Over the course of the project, nearly 18,000 cubic yards of dredge material was pumped into the first basin, and nearly 40 million gallons of water was treated and returned back into our canals in accordance with permit standards.” Bennett also stated “this project was very complex, including the permit process, the required dredging methodology, and the stringent water quality limits required for discharge after the separation of solids.”
Southern Shores Town Manager Peter Rascoe added, “I am pleased that we were able to successfully complete the first phase of the project this year. We have already started the process of applying to the regulatory agencies for a permit to dredge the remaining canals in the system. We are also exploring the most feasible technology for accomplishing this task, as well as exploring means to fund dredging of the remaining canals.”
The Town of Southern Shores owns a total of approximately 7.5 miles of canals in its system. The canals are public waters. “They are a tremendous asset to the Town and their existence as an amenity enhances the values of all properties in the Town” said Rascoe.
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Source: southernshores-nc, February 28, 2011