Oak Orchard Harbor to be dredged beginning mid-June

Photo by Tom Rivers: Dean Marine & Excavating Inc. from Michigan is shown dredging the Oak Orchard Harbor on Aug. 26, 2021. The dredging barge is near the breakwall at the end of the Oak Orchard channel. Before this, the harbor was last dredged in August 2014.

POINT BREEZE – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced the Oak Orchard Harbor will be dredged beginning in mid-June, the first time sediment will be cleared out of the channel in about four years.

The dredging is part of a $2 million contract that also includes dredging the Great Sodus Bay. The Army Corps of Engineers, Buffalo District awarded the contract to Michigan-based Dean Marine & Excavating on May 13.

“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,” said Lynne Johnson, chairwoman of the Orleans County Legislature. “We look forward to the dredging project getting underway later this year and thank the Army Corps of Engineers for their collaboration and leadership.”

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. Work is scheduled to take place from mid-June through the end of August.

A total of approximately 15,000 cubic yards of material from Oak Orchard, and 20,000 from Great Sodus is contracted to be dredged and placed in designated open lake sites.

“With this contract awarded, it is full steam ahead for the dredging of Great Sodus Bay and Oak Orchard Harbor. As one of Lake Ontario’s strongest defenders in Washington, I’m proud to deliver the federal support to help our Lake Ontario communities set sail towards a brighter future,” said U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer. “This critical dredging protects jobs and millions of dollars in business revenue across the Rochester-Finger Lakes region. I will never stop fighting to deliver all the resources we need to ensure a thriving and well-protected Great Lakes for generations to come.”

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.