More money available for Middlesex creek dredging

by Larry Chowning –

For generations, the dredging of creeks in Middlesex County — and throughout Tidewater Virginia — has been an enormous challenge. But new state funding may soon make the entire process more affordable and obtainable for a few counties.

During this year’s legislative session, Virginia’s General Assembly approved the allocation of $5 million to the Virginia Port Authority (VPA) specifically to go towards “local shovel-ready shallow-draft” creek dredging projects in the counties of Middlesex, Gloucester, Mathews, Accomack and Northampton counties.

Lawrence and the MPPAA spearheaded the move through local legislators to obtain the funds to make dredging of corps and non-corps creeks more affordable.

Lawrence explained that the MPPAA did an extensive study on why small dredging projects are often more expensive for landowners and jurisdictions than they can afford. “What we found was that dredging companies had a 40% to 45% “built-in profit margin” that they attributed to moving equipment from one site to another.

“We can eliminate most of that cost and if we can dredge at least four to six creeks a year we will save thousands of dollars…”