YORK COUNTY — Representatives from Biddeford and Saco have been informed that dredging of the federal navigation channel at the upper portion of Saco River near those cities will be starting soon.

Within the next week, a barge will be arriving to clear identified debris from the channel in preparation for United States Army Corp of Engineers dredging activity to be conducted in early November.

During that operation, divers from the Army Corp of Engineers will enter the river to find and secure debris for removal.

The debris removal project is expected to be completed by Oct. 31 so the formal dredging project can begin on schedule Nov. 1 and could be wrapped up by January 2018.

The Saco River was last dredged in 1992 and this new dredging project would remove more than 150,000 cubic yards of sand and silt, some of which has played a part in the ongoing erosion problems at Camp Ellis Beach.

Last fall, U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, U.S. Sen. Angus King and U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree sent a joint letter encouraging the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to move forward with the Saco River dredging project.

“In allocating funds that Congress makes available to the corps each year for the operation and maintenance of our nation’s water infrastructure, the law requires the corps to consider factors other than tonnage transiting through a harbor, to include potential for regional or local economic development,” the lawmakers wrote in the letter.

Commercial activity on the Saco River, which is home to more than 40 commercial fishing vessels, contributes more than $53 million in economic impact to the community each year.

Project funding was included in the Energy and Water Development Appropriations bill in July at the request of Collins, a senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee. That committee then approved more than $7 million in funding for maintenance dredging of the Saco River, York Harbor and Wells Harbor.

In May, Collins met with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers New England District Commander Colonel Christopher Barron and NAE Civil Project Management Division Chief Janet Harrington. 

At that meeting, Collins emphasized a significant and urgent need for dredging the waterway.

Army Corps of Engineers crews surveyed the river area using sonic and multibeam sonar in November 2015 and September 2016 to assess overall dredging needs.   

— Executive Editor Ed Pierce can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 326, or by email at [email protected].