Suisun City Plans To Dredge Up Harbor

Suisun City Plans To Dredge Up Harbor
By Ian Thompson

SUISUN CITY - Suisun City is gearing up to dredge its harbor next year and is pulling together a funding mechanism to pay for the effort.

The last time the city deepened part of the marina - the area around the boat launch ramp and fuel dock and Whispering Bay - was four years ago.

Usually, it is about eight to 10 years between dredgings but heavy rains and storms during the past three years have caused more silt than normal to build up in the harbor..

"We are planning to concentrate on the Marina area," Recreation and Community Services Department head Mick Jessop said. "We don't believe Whispering Bay needs a lot of dredging, but we are going to do soundings there."

"We want to stretch our dollars where we can," Jessop said.

The depth soundings will determine how much area needs to be dredged and how much the whole project will cost.

The areas most in need of dredging are in front of the public boat launch ramp, around the fuel dock and just south of the Solano Yacht Club.

"It is difficult to get bigger boats in there," Jessop said of the boat launch ramp.

Part of the preparations involve gathering funds from two assessment districts and seeking out a third funding source, possibly grants.

Another part is preparing Pierce Island just south of the city to accept the spoils, a cost-saving benefit that few other cities can boast.

There is also the need to acquire necessary state and federal permits, hiring a consultant to define the scope of the project and working out the best time to dredge so the damage to the area's fish population is kept to a minimum.

If things go as planned, Jessop expects to see the work done in the late summer and early fall of 2008.

The city is also trying to get the Army Corps of Engineers to dredge a few areas along the Suisun Slough outside of the city limits that include a couple of areas on the way to Hunters Cut.

Reach Ian Thompson at 427-6976 or at ithompson@dailyrepublic.net.