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Willacy County Navigation District Awaits Approval of Dredging Grant

Posted on: Wednesday, 6 July 2005, 21:00 CDT

Jul. 6--PORT MANSFIELD -- The Willacy County Navigation District will try to take on the job of dredging the channel that's a lifeline to the area's fishing industry.

Last week, officials applied for nearly $1 million in state grants to dredge the channel that has shoaled up to a depth of about seven feet along its most swallow stretches, said Mike Wilson, the port's director.

"Eventually there won't be enough (depth) for any boat to get out if we don't do something," Wilson said. "It's the natural process."

For 45 years, the district has counted on the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to dredge the channel. But a funding crunch led the Corps to scrap plans to do the job that would have cost about $2 million.

Now, Wilson believes the district can do it for about $1 million.

"We're pretty sure that's the only way we can afford to do the work," Wilson said.

June 29, district officials applied for a $200,000 grant from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.

The district also applied for a $750,000 grant from the Texas General Land Office. As part of the grant program, the district would be required to chip in $250,000. To come up with the district's share, officials would dip into its cash reserve fund of about $831,000, Wilson said, adding the district saves $100,000 to $150,000 a year.

"It will take a huge hit on positive cash flow," he said.

If the district gets the grant money, officials will rent equipment and hire crews to do the job, Wilson said.

"This is all new ground," he said. "We have not been through this before."

Last month, the district's board of directors requested Wilson apply for state grants to fund the project.

"Everybody's facing reality that it's going to be our responsibility in the long term," said Laura Lester, whose husband works as the captain of a private yacht.

Officials will know if they got the grants in two or three months, Wilson said.

The job has a short window of time. To avoid disturbing sea turtles and grasses, laws restrict dredging to the period between November and February, he said. The project is expected to take at least three months to complete, he said.

For scores of boat captains in this fishing village, the swallow waters threaten business, Lester said.

"People are very concerned," she said.

In three to five years, natural silt buildup could make the channel impassable, Wilson said.

Since the Corps dredged the channel in 1999, natural shoaling has lowered the channel's depth about two feet a year, he said.

This year, the Corps was scheduled to dredge the channel to its original 20-foot depth, but a budget crunch forced its officials to shift priorities to larger commercial waterways.

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Copyright (c) 2005, Valley Morning Star, Harlingen, Texas

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Source: Valley Morning Star (Harlingen, Texas)

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