The Virginia’s City of Richmond Department of Public Utilities (DPU) has started a new round of dredging works on the Haxall Canal, as part of their maintenance dredging program.
The Haxall Canal, which starts from the head gates near the west end of Brown’s Island and extends to the 12th Street level control structure, has accumulated large quantities of sediment from the James River and has reached levels that undermine the functionality of the level control structure and head gates, in addition to the aesthetic features the canal provides to the city.
This project will remove these large quantities of sediment that have deposited in the canal, and comes after a survey and assessment completed this summer.
The dredging operations will require the canal to be drained for approximately four months, with work ending May 1, 2019.
The Haxall Canal was previously drained and dredged of sediment in 2008. The city is expected to perform this required maintenance every 10-15 years.
In addition to routine dredging maintenance, the canal is periodically drawn down to lower levels for routine maintenance most often associated with cleaning trash and debris that undermine the functionality of the head gates and level control structure.