As Petersburg Pilot reports, a mound of mud has been making its way down Hammer Slough since a mudslide near the Public Works office last fall. On Saturday, at an extreme low tide of -3.6, the silt lifted a privately-owned float and at least one boat right out of the water.
“ Our best guess is that it’s 600 to 1,000 cubic yards .” said Harbormaster Glorianne Wollen .
According to Wollen, removing the silt can be done one of two ways. It can be removed by suction dredging. This technique could take up to two weeks to remove silt from the problem areas.
The second option would be “clamming” the mud. This is when the mud is scooped up and set on a barge to allow the water to run off. The problem with clamming, Wollen said is that there is no estimate on what a project like this will cost, nor is there money in the budget at this time. One thing Wollen stressed is that it’s a project that needs to be addressed right away.
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Dredging Today Staff, April 16, 2012;