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Chester Working on Clearing the Channel

Chester’s Harbor Management Commission (HMC) has been busy obtaining all the necessary permits and approvals to ensure that the needed dredging of the mouth of Chester Creek will happen next spring.

According to Joel Severance, chair of the seven-member HMC, the area hasn’t been dredged since 2000. In the interim, the sand and silt down river has been building up and filling in the channel.

The plan is for the dredging to happen sometime next spring, however, since there are a lot of hurdles to jump through before that can happen, the HMC is currently in the process of getting all the necessary permits and approvals so when the time comes, dredging can happen right away, readying the area for next summer’s boating traffic.

Chester is home to two marinas, two yacht clubs, two boat launches and a total of 445 boat slips.

“Boating generates a good deal of tax revenue for the town,” said Severance. “Only six percent of the boaters in town are from Chester, so boating brings in a lot of tourists and visitors who add to the town’s total revenue and not dredging the mouth of Chester Creek would have dire consequences for the town.”

The cost of the project is expected to be $125,000 and although the town has obtained a grant from the Connecticut Port Authority through the Small Harbor Improvement Project, the town is being asked to cost share 20 percent of the project’s price tag.

At press time, Chester’s Board of Selectmen, Board of Finance, and Inland Wetland Commission have all given approval of the project. In addition, one of the needed two state Department of Energy & Environmental Protection (DEEP) approvals has been obtained.

The HMC is still in the process of gaining approval from the Chester Planning & Zoning Commission and the final approval from the DEEP. If all goes as planned, the project will begin sometime in late winter/early spring when the threat of spawning fish and nesting birds is gone. It is expected to take approximately 33 days to complete.

The material that will be taken out of the mouth of the creek will be deposited upland, on a lot adjacent to the creek. According to Severance, the owner of this property has already given the town written permission to do this.

“It’s time,” said Severance. “The creek has not been dredged for 19 years and we need to keep it usable for boats in the area.”