Dredging

Years of shoaling have made Greenwich Bay's coves shallow and hard to navigate. The extra sediment can be dredged, a seemingly simple proposition. According to Rhode Island State Geologist Jon Boothroyd, University of Rhode Island geosciences professor, dredging is about finding out where sand goes, going after that sand, and putting it back where it belongs. But, the task requires many government partners to make sure the environment—at both the dredge site and the disposal site—is harmed as little as possible.

When a waterway is dredged, built-up material along the bottom of the passage is scooped out to deepen the channel and make it easier for boats to pass through. Dredging presents environmental concerns regarding ecosystem impacts that could result from disturbing channel floors and depositing piles of potentially polluted dredged material in other places.

Dredging has taken place in Warwick and Apponaug coves in the past, but some projects have been curtailed as the controversy over dredging impacts has intensified. In Greenwich Bay, government, business, and environmental advocates are discussing potential plans to dredge Warwick Cove and studying whether other coves, such as Brushneck Cove, should be deepened also.

The Army Corps of Engineers is studying various proposals to dredge Greenwich Bay cove areas. Some people hope that the dredging projects will yield clean sediment that can be used for local beach nourishment.

For more information, see the Geology and Hazards page.