The topic at the June 25 Rivers Coalition meeting: “Dredging, Disposal and Restoration in the St. Lucie Watershed”.

Dredging and disposal of what? There are two different things that need to be dealt with: 

* Sand (which is natural, but which currents have carried to the wrong places, like channels)

* Muck (the harmful stuff in as much as a 4’-6’ layer at the bottom of the estuary) 

Sand, over time, gets deposited in navigation channels. The Intracoastal Waterway has an authorized depth of 12 feet; the Okeechobee Waterway’s is eight. The Army Corps of Engineers conducts dredging operations every three years to maintain those depths. One is currently underway; the Corps anticipates about a million cubic yards will be dredged. 

That’s a lot of sand. Eventually, it will be used for beach renourishment (although a million cubic yards isn't enough to meet all the renourishment requirements). Until then, it'll be “stored” in an impoundment area immediately south of Sailfish Point. 

Which is OK as long as the sand doesn't end up back in the channel or out at the coral reef. The Corps insists they’re taking every precaution to ensure neither of those things happen.

Muck, though, is the bigger concern. There’s as much as 4’-6’ of it in some places – and since it contains toxic elements, it can't be disposed of naturally. 

Enter the "CERP IRL-S Phase 2 Muck Removal C-23 Spoil Site." Newfield, the huge area being developed in Palm City north of Route 714 along Boat Ramp Road, is conveying 125 acres along the canal at the northeast corner of their property to Martin County for muck disposal. That parcel abuts another 125-acre site the Florida Inland Navigation District has already acquired for dredge spoil management. 

Those 250 acres pretty much solve the rather large problem of where to put all that toxic muck. It was a difficult and thorny problem to deal with – one of the many such problems that’s handled out of the spotlight – and the county is very excited that it’s been solved. 

Meanwhile, Lake Okeechobee is at 10.97 feet, at the very bottom of the Lake Management water level band. But the rainy season is upon us, so the Corps isn't currently anticipating having to implement any water-use restrictions. And the low lake level is proving to be extremely beneficial for the Submerged Aquatic Vegetation that was decimated during the last couple of years.     

-- Walter Deemer, LWVMC Rivers Coalition Representative