OCEAN VIEW, Del. - The White Creek priority dredging project will not be completed this season due to a contractor delay, according to the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control.
The contractor, ResilientSeas, DNREC's assessment of the delay is not the whole story.
"We received notice to proceed on December first of last year. Before we even had officially authority to begin work on the project, we were a month behind the contract schedule," Chad Sumner, principle project manager, said.
No matter who is to blame for the delay, people like Tom Fowler said he wishes the project was treated with more urgency.
"This is a heavily used creek. I mean there is up to 2,000 boat slips on this creek. There is a lot of boat traffic. What good is your property if you can't really use your creek?" Fowler said.
The project was initially scheduled for completion March 31 to comply with existing seasonal dredging restrictions established to protect wildlife and natural resources. DNREC said that dredging projects may not be performed during certain windows of wildlife activity in the waterways.
Although dredging was scheduled to begin in early 2023 to avoid conflict with these environmental restrictions, DNREC said the project contractor delayed the start of dredging for more than four weeks, pushing the completion date beyond the scheduled deadline.
Secretary Shawn Garvin said that DNREC would not be bringing this project to a halt for at least the next six months had the contractor not failed to get it under way in time to complete it.
"All dredging permits require that this department work within windows that are protective of marine wildlife, and adhering to and abiding by those restrictions is incumbent upon us as a natural resource and environmental agency," said Garvin. "DNREC is not in this position for lack of a timetable being written into the contract, or for lack of our following up with the contractor to let them know that they were not meeting contractual obligations."
Garvin also said DNREC’s Shoreline and Waterway Management Section is working to develop a solution that will enable DNREC to complete as much of the project as possible before the March 31 cutoff, while reiterating that the restrictions are in place to ensure the continued enjoyment of outdoor recreation and natural resources by current and future generations of Delawareans and the state’s coastal visitors.
The White Creek dredging project encompasses a portion of the Assawoman Canal. Both waterways have been at the top of DNREC's prioritized list for dredging since 2020.
A section of the Assawoman Canal, 1,200 linear feet, was dredged before the February 28 cutoff in that waterway for environmental restrictions, as was a high-traffic boating area where White Creek meets the Assawoman Canal. DNREC Shoreline and Waterway Section Administrator Jesse Hayden advised boaters to continue to exercise caution in the area because shoals may shift during the summer boating season.
On March 1, the contractor moved their equipment to the western prong of White Creek, to be followed by dredging of the waterway’s eastern prong, with both expected to be completed by the March 31 environmental restriction deadline for White Creek. Homeowners have recently expressed concerns about changes made to the dredging plans that would leave out a portion of the eastern prong.
Hayden noted the delayed start to the project means that a span of White Creek will not be improved by maintenance dredging for the coming recreational boating season.