From the Falmouth Enterprise · March 5, 2021 · By Brad Cole
Falmouth’s Waterways Committee discussed on March 3, 2021, where to put sediment from a planned dredging of Waquoit Bay and its entrance channel. A preliminary survey by the Woods Hole Group found no hazardous materials but judged the material unsuitable for beach nourishment, so the committee looked at using it to build up nearby marshes instead. Committee member Joseph Voci said Jim Rassman, stewardship coordinator at the Waquoit Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, would gauge the reserve’s interest, and that detailed soundings would be needed first to confirm the material was suitable. He cited a Beverly dredging project that ended in lawsuits after its spoils were mischaracterized.
Harbormaster Gregg Fraser said the reserve was interested in treating part of the work as research, to show regulators that placing dredged material on marshes can help build them up and protect them from storm surge. Another option discussed was a dewatering structure on the eroded beach side of Washburn Island, if MassDEP agreed. Fraser proposed a separate capital budget line for engineering and permitting, since the town also has dredging planned for Megansett Harbor and Rand’s Canal, and noted the Waquoit Bay project could qualify for a MassWorks grant covering half the dredging cost.
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