Hi Everyone,
This is my Lower Bay Dredging Update No. 5.
· Please see the attached Figure No. 3. We’ve added a new color to the map which shows where the dredger will be in the next 1-2 weeks. This should help folks plan ahead.
· The larger dredge “Palomar” has moved from the Balboa Bay Club area to the eastern tip of Lido Isle. They are digging a narrow channel that will allow them to access the larger channel along Via Lido Soud and the peninsula which is where the large volume of POLB-bound material is located. They’ll be working near the eastern tip of Lido for about 6-7 more days before they round the corner into the main channel.
· The smaller dredge “180” took the place of the larger dredge at the Balboa Bay Club. This dredge has a smaller bucket so the production is slower. However, there’s only about one week to go before they can move on from this area.
· There are 3 disposal scows working at the two different dredge locations – quite a lot of activity indeed!
· After the Balboa Bay Club area is complete, they’ll start near Collins Isle and dig their way into the channel along North Bay Front in order to reach the POLB-bound material near the Balboa Yacht Basin.
· If you are a mooring permittee in the “D” mooring field (between Bayside Drive and Balboa Island), now is the time to move your vessel to another mooring. Please call the Harbor Patrol at (949) 723-1002, and they’ll be happy to assign you a different mooring elsewhere in the harbor at no charge to you. If your boat is not moved, South Mooring Company will move both the boat and the mooring to a different, temporary location in the harbor. We would prefer not to move the boat ourselves, so please help the project out by calling the Harbor Patrol to temporarily move the vessel yourself. We anticipate that we’ll be working in this area for about 3-4 weeks (estimated).
· Extended working hours: As you may have heard by now, the dredger has been authorized to work at any hour day/night in order to meet the deadline for the Port of Long Beach window. As previously mentioned, it is critical that we meet this disposal window, or we will not have any other feasible alternative for sediment disposal in those areas. Therefore, we’ve allowed the dredger to “chase the tides” which means they’ll be working a full shift whenever the tide is high enough to float the fully loaded barges out of the harbor. So, they won’t be working a constant 24 hour shift, but will be working the optimal hours to achieve the best results. The City sincerely apologizes for the inconvenience, and we thank the harbor community for their patience during this important project.
· For the folks who live on Via Lido Soud, it is advisable that you please move your boat (if it overhangs beyond the end of the finger floats) for the 1 day when the dredger is in front of your dock. They will stay at least 15’ away from your dock, but if you have a boat that overhangs past your finger floats, they will probably stay 15’ away from your boat as well. This isn’t necessarily a problem, but the closest they can get to their specified dredge footprint, the better. It will even improve the approach to your slip as well!
· I am recommending dock owners to move their boat regardless, because inevitably, the boats will get splashed with water and maybe mud. I’ve been watching the operations, and frankly, it looks like a clean process, but you may not want to take the chance. The dredger will not be responsible for cleaning up mud or water off boats or docks.
· Sometimes access will be limited in certain areas of the harbor. We will do our best to reduce the time we may be blocking access to and from a dock or a channel, but we ask that you please plan ahead. I will continue to provide updates giving folks as much lead time as possible. This also applies to the tenants at the Balboa Yacht Basin and even Promontory Bay. Again, we’ll do our best to minimize the inconvenience.
· As always, please be mindful of the dredge operations, and please warn your family, friends and customers (boat, kayak, SUP rentals etc…) to stay clear of the dredge and tug boat operations.
· A big ‘Thank You’ to all who attended the annual Sailing / Charter / Rental Boat outreach program yesterday when we discussed the impact that the project will have on this summer’s activities. Again, thank you for bearing with us.
· The anchorage has been temporarily relocated to the western end of Lido Isle for the duration of the project.
· The information in these updates can also be viewed online at: http://www.newportbeachca.gov/lowerbaydredging (There may be some lag time between this email and our postings.)
· If you would like to receive these updates, please email me with your contact information.
Thank you,
Chris Miller
Harbor Resources Manager
No comments:
Post a Comment