Centerport Harbor Dredging to Begin

             The Town of Huntington wants to alert boaters that Suffolk County is about to begin the first dredging of the Centerport Harbor Navigation Channel in 14 years, a six-week project aimed at facilitating recreational boating in the harbor.

             The County-funded project, which is to start Oct. 1, will include dredging the channel to 12 feet below mean water and replenishing the Towns Centerport Beach and the Huntington Beach Community Association beach with a total of 30,000 cubic yards of sand. Following the dredging, the Town will reseed the shellfish stock (the northern portion of the channel area is seasonally certified for shellfishing) through its shellfish hatchery program.

            Due to the complexity of the dredging operation some boaters will be asked to remove their boats or moorings while the project is on going.  The Town Harbormasters Office will do its best to accommodate anyone affected.  Affected boaters can move their boats to Coneys mooring field and purchase launch service from the Town for the remainder of the season (Oct 1 to Nov 6th) at a cost of $115 for residents and $135 for non-residents. If slips are available, winter wet storage can be purchased at the standard monthly rate.

             Residents should also be aware that for the first half of the project, dredging will be conducted 24 hours a day, seven days a week, with associated noise.

 Persons with questions and concerns can call the Town Harbormaster Office at 351-3255.

 In the photo: Councilwoman Susan Berland meets with representatives from the Suffolk County Department of Public Works, the Huntington Beach Community Association, the Towns Department of Maritime Services and Centerport Boat Works to discuss details of dredging project.