Need for canal dredging gets serious

It's all about the mud; there is too much of it in the Lewes-Rehoboth Canal.

Conditions in the canal, particularly from the Freeman Highway bridge west to Roosevelt Inlet, have reached a tipping point.

One local legislator says if action is not taken soon to clear out a deeper channel, the maritime economy could suffer.

Rep. Steve Smyk, R-Milton, said dredging of shallow-draft ports waterways has been left to state and local officials, and legislators were blindsided by the change during the last General Assembly session. “We thought the Army Corps of Engineers was full steam ahead to get dredging done, but they put the rudder in reverse and said we were on our own,” Smyk said. “It's a bitter pill the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control is faced with because we did not budget any money.”

There is a small pot of accumulating funds thanks to Senate Bill 261, which allocates increased revenue from boating registrations to the state's newly created Waterway Management Fund. It's estimated that $1.3 million will be collected annually to dredge and mark Delaware waterways, but local legislators say that's only a third of the money needed to begin needed dredging work in the canal and Inland Bays. “It's not nearly enough. We need a lot more money,” Smyk said.

Sen. Gerald Hocker, R-Ocean View; Rep. Ruth Briggs King, R-Georgetown; and Rep. Ron Gray, R-Selbyville, sponsored the legislation. Local co-sponsors included Smyk and House Speaker Rep. Pete Schwartzkopf, D-Rehoboth Beach,

Smyk said he has been working with stakeholders and organizations to garner support when he approaches the joint finance committee next year for funds. “They need to understand the reasons why this is so important and how important it is to the beach economy,” he said.

Legislators estimate the cost to dredge the canal would be $2.4 million, but it's not the only waterway that needs it. Dredging of Massey's Ditch – connecting Rehoboth and Indian River bays – is estimated at $4 million and dredging Herring Creek – in the Long Neck area – is estimated to cost $2.4 million.

The Lewes Yacht Club allocates funds to dredge its marina, and the City of Lewes has dredged its dockage area five times over the past decade, including last year.

The last time the 12-mile canal was part of a major dredging project was in 2002, but even then, the project did not include all points in the canal.

The problem was obvious during this year's July Fourth boat parade in Lewes. At least three boats got stuck in the mud during low tide and had to wait for high tide to get back underway. Smyk said while the problem is serious in the Lewes area, other ports along Delaware Bay are also suffering.

“It's starting to hit boat captains of charter boats really hard; their boats are getting stuck in the mud except at times of really high tides,” Smyk said.

Sailor urges boaters to contact legislators

Nick Carter, an experienced Lewes sailor, is urging canal users to contact the state's federal officials to express their concern.

Carter said there are serious issues along the Lewes portion of the canal with many boats and docks sitting in mud at low tide. He said there is shoaling in the Lewes city basin by the city dock, the town marina, both sides of the Lewes drawbridge and both sides of the Lewes railroad bridge with shoals as shallow as 2 feet at low tide.

“In Lewes, much of the problem has been in boat slips, some of which are now so shallow they're unusable. In fact, the historic Overfalls Lightship currently sits in mud at low tide on the canal,” he said.

Carter said Congress allocated $149 million to the Army Corps in 2015 for dredging shallow-draft commercial harbors nationwide.

Carter said funding becomes a matter of priority. “Lewes is becoming a serious navigational hazard and should be considered a high priority because it’s only getting worse. My concern is the $149 million is budgeted and most likely will be used elsewhere if we don’t make every effort to get the Roosevelt Inlet and the Lewes portion of the Lewes-Rehoboth Canal dredged,” he said.

Smyk said overall priorities for limited state funding need to examined, including the millions spent on trails. “We can still spend money on trails, but there are other important projects that need to be addressed as well,” he said. “I believe such dollars need to be better invested. Sixty thousand registered boats in Delaware are joined by thousands of boats brought from elsewhere every summer. Boating and fishing drives untold millions of dollars in economic activity and supports thousands of local jobs.”

Lewes-Rehoboth Canal dates back a century

Opened 100 years ago, the Lewes-Rehoboth Canal runs from Roosevelt Inlet south to Rehoboth Bay. The northernmost 1.5 miles connects Lewes Harbor, and dozens of public and private docks, to the Delaware Bay.