Harbor/Channel Dredging Top Priority

The Seadrift Municipal Harbor on San Antonio Bay was the topic of discussion about an application submitted for RESTORE ACT funding. The Municipal Harbor was dug by private interests approximately 1910-1911 but has not been dredged since the 1930s. The only maintenance of the channel has been by means of natural “prop washing;” as boats depart and return they stir the silt in the channel and naturally push it out of the channel.

This method has worked to keep the channel somewhat clear, but as that silt is pushed out of the channel, it settles around the harbor walls. When boats return during high tide, they are able to navigate into their docking space, but when the tide flows back out, and especially during winter months when tides are typically lower, oftentimes these same boats become grounded in the mud until the high tide returns. This discourages larger commercial operators from attempting to offload their catch at the Seadrift processing plant, which means the City misses out on a potential significant source of additional processing tariffs.

The City has worked with professional engineering firm, Urban Engineering out of Victoria, to obtain the USACE permit necessary to complete dredging of the harbor, making this project shovel-ready. However, the USACE permit will need to be amended if The Nature Conservancy’s bird island project is approved it may be able to use the dredged material in The Nature Conservancy’s bird island restoration project to replenish the existing bird rookeries scattered around the bay. This will be both an ecological and economical beneficial use of dredge material as it will address the USACE and GLO goals of reducing the amount of spoil deposited on upland soils, and it will create eco-tourism opportunities for guided tours of the restored rookeries. (note: SABP’s is only a supporting partner in the bird island projects – TNC is the applicant for the bird islands.)

This RESTORE ACT project will also enhance the recreational usefulness of the harbor by installing education signage, six covered boat slips with a nearby boat waste (sewage) pump-out station, fish cleaning (grinder) station, and improved parking area. A 175 linear foot breakwater will be installed to reduce the amount of silt that is washed into the harbor by normal tidal action, and 450 linear feet of wooden bulkhead renovation will be accomplished for shoreline protection.

At Seadrift City Council meeting May 3, Mayor DeForest announced that the City has applied for a Restore Act Grant to fund this needed project. The Council also voted to support The Nature Conservancy’s bird island restoration project and to support San Antonio Bay Partnership’s efforts to establish a paddling/kayaking trail for the San Antonio Bay System to connect to a proposed Guadalupe River Delta paddling/kayaking trail.