NEWPORT BEACH – The final portion of the dredging project in Upper Newport Bay is now under way, wrapping up work that has been ongoing since 2006. City officials have turned their attention to the next step: allocating funds for dredging the lower bay, where the bulk of Newport Harbor boating takes place.

Photo by: yachtphotography.com Lower Newport Bay

Earlier this year, after months of lobbying for funding, the city was awarded $17.36 million in federal stimulus funds under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, for completion of the Upper Bay Restoration Project. While this cleared the way for completion of a half-finished project that was the focus of concern for many city officials, the lower bay needs dredging, too -- to remove silt and shoaling that has accumulated since the navigable harbor was created in the 1930s.

The city is set to receive $1.6 million later this year, when approved by Congress, for hydro studies and engineering work to make the lower bay dredging project “shovel ready.” Once allocated, the funds will be given to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which will assign the work to private contractors.

“Engaging the Corps is beneficial because of their technical assistance and their relationships with regulatory agencies,” said Newport Beach City Councilwoman Leslie Daigle, who has lobbied for federal funds. “They are able to provide assistance at the higher levels of the federal government.”

The project will require permits from the California Coastal Commission, the U.S. EPA, the Army Corps of Engineers and the Regional Water Quality Control Board, among other agencies.

Dredging the lower bay would return the harbor to its designed depth, remove shoals and improve navigability. Maintenance dredging of the lower bay is the Corps of Engineers’ responsibility, but the Corps has not removed the accumulated siltation since it finished building Newport Harbor in 1936.

Boat traffic has been affected by the shoaling, which has resulted in water depth of less than 5 feet in some areas in the harbor.

“Maintenance dredging will provide full access to the harbor, which is fundamental to the economic and recreational health of Newport Beach,” said Councilwoman Daigle.

An estimated 1 million cubic yards of sediment will be removed from the federal area and 100,000 cubic yards in the Rhine Channel. The city is awaiting scientific testing that will determine the volume of clean sediment that will go into the LA-3 disposal site and the volume of contaminated sediment that will need an alternative disposal method. The results are expected in December.

The city plans to meet with the Corps of Engineers in early November to review the progress and chart the course for the next 12 months.