Dredging is on the horizon for the Manatee Pocket

Contact: David Graham
Martin County Director of Administration
772 221 2352 or dgraham@martin.fl.us

Stuart, Fla. - May 12, 2010 - In the coming weeks, county officials will inaugurate a dredging project that will bring the Treasure Coast one step closer to realizing the navigational, economic and environmental benefits of a 100-ft. channel through the Manatee Pocket in Port Salerno.

Construction will begin next week on a 25-acre parcel off U.S.1 and Slater Street as the Dredged Material Management Area (DMMA) site. Material dredged from the Manatee Pocket will be piped to the DMMA site where it will be dried and hauled away. In an effort to preserve aesthetics and minimize impacts to the surrounding areas, the DMMA site will be shielded from view by a tall grass-covered berm and enclosed by a chain-link fence.

“Prior dredging projects in Manatee Pocket have shown the dredged material has had no negative impacts, aesthetically or otherwise, to the neighbors,” said Martin County Coastal Engineer Kathy FitzPatrick. Extensive testing of the dredged material has been conducted. All dredged material that will be placed at the DMMA site is safe for handling and free of harmful contaminants. As for impacts to traffic, motorists who use Southeast Slater Street to access U.S. 1 will be rerouted from Southeast Slater Street to Southeast Dominica Terrace. At the conclusion of the Manatee Pocket project, a new permanent roadway will be constructed from Slater Street to Southeast Dominica Terrace and the Slater Street property will be returned to its original condition.

Dickerson will begin preparations to the DMMA site, as well as construction of the pipeline that will transport the dredged materials—a process that is expected to take about six weeks. Once the project elements are in place, dredging will begin in the Crooked Creek area of the Pocket and will continue through the main body of the Pocket and along its tributaries until the 100-ft wide channel is completed.

Additional information on the project as well as updates on the dredging progress will be included on the Manatee Pocket’s project web site at www.manateepocketproject.com.

About the Manatee Pocket Project
The Manatee Pocket Project is a dredging project that entails the removal of approximately 280,000 cubic yards of sediment from the Manatee Pocket in Port Salerno. Once completed, the project will result in a100-foot-wide channel that will provide navigational, economic and environmental enhancements to the Manatee Pocket and its tributaries.

The goals of the project are to:
• Improve navigation for all vessel operators using the Pocket
• Increase the draft and size of vessels able to navigate within the Pocket
• Define a channel for vessels to travel thereby minimizing impacts to adjacent shallow water areas
and protecting manatees;
• Remove detrimental sediments
• Improve the ability of marine life to re-establish in the Pocket
• Improve the water quality in the Pocket

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