Dredging expected to start next week at Oak Orchard Harbor
File photo by Tom Rivers: Dean Marine & Excavating Inc. from Michigan is shown dredging the Oak Orchard Harbor on Aug. 26, 2021. While sediment was scopped from the harbor, there was an area for boaters to come and go.
POINT BREEZE – Dredging of the harbor at Oak Orchard is expected to start next week, Orleans County officials announced today.
The dredging should continue through the July 4th weekend, said Lynne Johnson, the County legislature chairwoman.
“Oak Orchard Harbor is an important part of our local tourism and recreation economy, so ensuring the safe passage of boats in and out of the harbor has always been a top priority of ours,” Johnson said. “That means dredging is required to maintain navigability and we thank the Army Corps for their efforts. We are excited this project will soon be completed.”
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Buffalo District, awarded a $2 million contract to Michigan-based Dean Marine & Excavating to conduct dredging of Oak Orchard Harbor as well as Great Sodus Bay.
A total of approximately 15,000 cubic yards of material from Oak Orchard is contracted to be dredged and placed in designated open lake sites. The harbor was last dredged in 2021. That followed a seven-year stretch when it was dredged in 2014.
Dredging of these harbors ensures accessible depths for vessels traveling the Great Lakes and enables recreational boating which supports more than $24 million in business revenue and labor income to the transportation sector combined, the Army Corps stated in a news release.
“Great Sodus Bay and Oak Orchard Harbor are critical components of the Great Lakes Navigation System, supporting economic growth in the local economy and ensuring safe refuge for boats on Lake Ontario,” said Lt. Col. Robert Burnham, USACE Buffalo District commander. “We look forward to delivering these projects on time and within budget, ensuring their waterfronts continue serving the local community and the country.”
Dredging will focus on the mouth of Oak Orchard Harbor first, followed by the inside of Great Sodus Bay past its piers.
Oak Orchard Harbor is a shallow-draft harbor. Recreational boating facilitated by the harbor supports $6.8 million in business revenue, 94 direct, indirect, and induced jobs, and $6 million in labor income to the nation, the Army Corps said.
Great Sodus Bay also is a shallow-draft harbor on the southern shore of Lake Ontario. Recreational boating facilitated by the harbor supports $9.3 million in business revenue, 142 direct, indirect, and induced jobs, and $8.7 million in labor income to the nation.
