LITTLE CREEK, DELAWARE (8/1/2015) In a move to improve navigation as well as the Little Creek economy and bird habitat, state officials announced that dredging of the Little River will begin this month.
The river channel will be dredged to a depth of 5 feet at average low tide from the Route 9 bridge to the Delaware Bay – a distance of more than 2 miles. The channel will be dredged to a width of 40 feet in the river and 60 feet in the bay.
The river was last dredged in 1981-82 and silting, a sunken boat and old pilings have severely limited boat traffic over the years.
The dredged material will be used to enhance waterfowl and shorebird habitat in the Division of Fish & Wildlife’s Little Creek Wildlife Area.
The Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control said sinking marsh elevations have resulted in excessive open water habitat in an impoundment area, and the dredge material will raise levels and restore the growth of plants whose seeds are eaten by migrating waterfowl.
The $1 million state-funded project includes dredging 79,000 cubic yards of material and the removal of 30 derelict pilings and a sunken boat from the waterway near Little Creek.
A pipeline will be placed along an existing road in the Little Creek Wildlife Area to pump dredge material, closing the main road within the wildlife area from the Division of Fish & Wildlife’s Hunter Education building to the wildlife viewing tower for four days.
DNREC officials said the project is not expected to interfere with hunting in the area. The dredging is expected to be completed by Oct. 1, before peak waterfowl season.
Southwind Construction of Evansville, Ind., was awarded the contract for the project.