Plans alter, but dredging (Key West Harbor) goes ahead
By Alyson Matley
amatley@keynoter.com
It sounded like science fiction, running a
gigantic pipeline underwater to pump out nearly 500 acres of sediment. Turns
out, it was a bit unrealistic, say officials.
"The bottom line is, it got too expensive," said Capt. Larry Cotton,
commander of the Naval Air Facility Key West.
The Navy is undertaking the mammoth task of clearing out Key West Harbor
to deepen it in the interest of national security. Initial plans called for
running a pipeline from the harbor to Boca Chica and pumping out materials
dredged from federal channels and the Turning Basin to Navy land, using it
as fill.
"It would take a lot a pipe and a lot of pumps to keep it going," said
Cotton. On top of that, Cotton said he could not find a firm that had ever
tackled a job this size. "Nobody has ever pumped material that far."
The Navy captain said that the harbor bottom is not coated in fine silt,
but gravel and rock that could not easily be pumped.
Even though the scope of the project has changed, the timeline hasn’t, he
said. If anything, said Cotton, a new method of disposal could even speed
completion. The Navy is estimating the project will cost in the range of $26
million.
"Some of the dredge material will likely go to Fleming Key," said Cotton.
"Some we’re looking at dumping at sea, outside of state waters, in federal
waters. We are working now on getting an EPA permit and one from the Army
Corp of Engineers."
Cotton says that the job should be contracted out by September, and that
work will probably begin around December or January. The dredging should
take between one year and 18 months.
The areas slated for dredging are the entrance channel to Key West
Harbor, the Truman Annex Harbor inside the Mole Pier, and the Turning Basin
just across the channel from Fort Taylor Park.
The entire area has been a working harbor for a long time, and there is a
chance that some contaminants could be stirred up by the work. Early
samples, according to the permit applications, showed minimal amounts of
contamination, however. There is also a lot of sensitive habitat to be
avoided. Patch reefs, seagrass and hardbottom communities line the channel.
The target depth of 35 feet will make it easier for Navy vessels to come
into the harbor. It may also be deep enough to alleviate the silt plumes
that follow cruise ships as their huge propellers stir up years of bottom
sediment.
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