Swampscott Harbor to be dredged

SWAMPSCOTT – After years of filling in due to tidal action and storm surges, Swampscott harbor is slated for dredging.The Massachusetts Seaport Advisory Council has approved $475,000 for the project.Harbor Advisory Committee Milton Fistel said he is thrilled the town is slated to receive money for the project, which he said is a top priority. Fistel did the preliminary engineering study that was used as part of the grant application.?There is a big sandbar in the harbor out off Lincoln House Point,” he said. “And to the left of the pier it is filling in out toward Lincoln House Point. The harbor was dredged 17 or so years ago, but they didn’t do such a great job. They missed a lot of areas and ghost moorings (abandoned moorings buried in the sand) were not taken out before it was dredged.”Fistel said the harbor has filled in so much over the years that there are very few places to moor boats more than 25 feet long.?It’s not deep enough,” he said. “We have a waiting list for moorings for the larger boats because a lot of the harbor is too shallow to moor them in now.”Fistel said the shallow harbor is an issue from a public safety perspective because there are some areas the harbormaster boat cannot navigate into.?There’s not enough depth for the harbormaster boat,” he said. “So this is really a public safety issue.”Fistel said the dredging project will remove approximately 15,000 cubic yards of material from the harbor. He explained a large dump truck holds between 12 and 15 cubic yards of material.?That would be like taking 1,000 dump trucks full of sand out of the harbor,” he said. “It’s quite a project.”Fistel added the sand will be pumped from the harbor to Kings Beach using a hydraulic dredge.?It’s clean sand,” he said. “It’s called beach nourishment. It takes away from one place and puts it another place. Kings Beach faces east so it gets more erosion and this will replace the sand that Kings Beach has lost over the years due to erosion.”Fistel said the town will probably not have the money in hand for the project until July 2011, which gives town officials plenty of time to do the necessary engineering studies and go through the permitting process.Selectman Rich Malagrifa, who is the liaison between the Board of Selectmen and Harbor Advisory Committee, said he is thrilled the town received the grant.?I’m glad we got it,” Malagrifa said. “The harbor has been neglected for years. It really needs to be dredged. This is a step in the right direction. I’m hoping the deeper water will increase access to the community by recreational boaters.”