Barnstable County Dredge Completes 25th Season
July 29, 2021 (Barnstable, MA) – On July 1st, the County Dredge Sand Shifter finished the last phase of dredging in the outer channel of Saquatucket Harbor, Harwich, marking the end to a successful 25th season.
Since its inception in 1995, the County Dredge program, led by dredge superintendent Jason Bevis, has dredged over 2,338,676 cubic yards of sand from just about every channel and harbor on Cape Cod. The season began in September 2020 on the third and last phase of the Dead Neck/Sampson’s Island project in Barnstable (Cotuit). The dredge crew completed work in Yarmouth, Falmouth, Bourne, Provincetown, Truro, Dennis, Mashpee, Chatham, and Harwich. In addition to the Sand Shifter, the County’s second dredge, the Codfish II, was also used and staffed by separate crews to complete half of these projects.
It was a record-breaking season.
Approximately 150,000 cubic yards were removed from the various channels throughout the Cape, with most of the sand removed used to replenish the nearby beaches and coastal dune habitat.
“This season was a tremendous accomplishment for the crew,” stated Ken Cirillo, Director of the County Dredge program, “They worked ten months in all weather conditions along with a variety of COVID-19 challenges and restrictions to complete these projects.”
The crew includes Superintendent Jason Bevis, Leverman Chris Armstrong & Cory Fleming, Maintenance Engineer Rich Randall, Forman Tanner Dailey, and Deckhands Andrew DiPietro and Zachary Tivey.
Some critical milestones from this season:
- The largest project was the Dead Neck/Sampson’s Island project, with 43,955 Cubic Yards dredged.
- The smallest project was the Mill Creek Channel, Yarmouth project with 205 Cubic Yards removing a hazardous mid-channel shoal.
- The longest pipe run was for the Stage Harbor, Chatham project with 2.2 miles of pipe running from the Sand Shifter to a Booster Station and onto the discharge location at Cockle Cove Beach.
- A unique project was the Little Bay, Bourne project, where 15,000 Cubic Yards of sand were dredged, allowed to dry, and then trucked to Town Neck Beach in Sandwich for dune replenishment/rebuilding.
“Except for the Bass River project that we could not complete due to ‘time of year’ restrictions, we are pleased that every other project was finished, and we met all targets for volumes of sand needing to be dredged,” said Elizabeth Albert Barnstable County Administrator.
Ken Cirillo, Director of the County Dredge Program, said, “This season brought a variety of the usual challenges; high wind and seas, cold temperatures, and a few mechanical breakdowns, but throughout the season, the persistence and drive to complete each project displayed by the crew was remarkable. They are a great team, all sharing the common goal of succeeding.”
In the next two months, the crew will be working on routine maintenance, preparing the equipment for the upcoming season slated to begin in September.
About the Barnstable County Dredge Program
Since 1994, the County Dredge Program has been serving all towns on Cape Cod, except Brewster, which has no navigable harbors. The program provides dredging services at approximately 70% below the market rate and the dredged material has been used to successfully renourish many of the Cape’s beaches, while at the same time allowing ease of navigation in several harbors and riverways. For more information visit www.barnstablecounty.org
