An ad hoc advisory committee has been formed in Essex, to continue with ongoing preservation efforts for Thatchbed Island. The island, owned primarily by the Essex Land Trust and the State of Connecticut, is located between Essex’s Middle Cove and South Cove. A barrier island once 20 acres in size, Thatchbed is slowly eroding, and is now 8 acres.

The advisory committee will work with the state to further a multi-pronged plan to preserve the island while also potentially providing the town of Essex a place to dispose of dredged materials. The Essex Board of Selectmen (BOS) voted unanimously at its July 21 meeting to form the advisory committee

“The plan is to put a rock barrier around the island and one, protect it from erosion, further erosion, but also to use it as a place to put dredged soil, which over decades and decades will save the town money, and possibly generate some revenue for us,” said First Selectman Norman Needleman at the BOS meeting.

The committee will be made up of various town officials including Essex Selectman Bruce Glowac. It will be led by Jeff Going, a member of the Essex Harbor Management Commission, who has worked on the Thatched Island restoration project for several years.

As a result of Going’s efforts, the Town of Essex received a grant from the Connecticut Port Authority in 2018 to collect the data necessary for several different aspects of future work on the restoration project.

The project is following a standard procedure with officials from the state Department of Energy & Environmental Protection (DEEP), said Going by phone after the BOS meeting.

“The proposal has been submitted and is up at the state level now,” said Going, adding that establishing Thatchbed Island’s mean low water line is now an important starting point.

“That starts to give us an idea of where we’ll be working and we’ll get that defined in the next couple of weeks,” he said.

Unintended Consequences

A confluence of factors with “unintended consequences” have resulted in the existing conditions of Thatchbed Island, Going said.

This includes the dredging of a new channel for the ease of commercial barge and freight traffic to Hartford on the Connecticut River.

“They moved the river channel in front of the steamboat dock in Essex to the middle of the river and dredged out what was called Essex shoal and deposited the dredged material there on Nod Island, creating a huge sand dune,” said Going.

“That changed the flow of the river in Essex Harbor so the scouring and cleanup current that used to run right in front of the east side of Thatchbed has gone away,” he continued.

The erosion of Thatchbed Island was also accelerated by state efforts to remove strains of invasive, non-native phragmites, a perennial wetland grass, by mowing and spraying to kill it.

“Eventually the root structure from the phragmite died away and the root structure was a major portion of what was holding Thatchbed together,” said Going. “So, without that heavy strong root structure, then erosion accelerated.

“And part of the erosion is from storms, part of it is from boat wake and just wind driven waves. They are all contributing factors,” he continued.

The erosion has meant a loss of wildlife and bird habitat, and, if it continues to wash away, could perhaps expose properties in South and Middle coves to flooding or water damage caused by hurricanes or storm surges.

“If it continues and nobody does anything, at some point, Middle Cove will be seriously exposed to major storms that come through,” said Going.

A Solution

Other factors taken into consideration with the project is the need for dredging certain waterways in Essex, and the increasing cost of depositing dredged materials in areas of Long Island Sound.

“In Essex, the waterfront, the mooring field, the visiting transients that come by boat, are vital to the town,” said Going. “It’s the economic driver of the town, getting visitors in. So, we know there is a need every once in a while, for some areas to be dredged and we have to keep an eye on the channel and the mooring field.”

The plan to place dredged materials from these waterways onto areas where Thatchbed Island used to be would help restore a natural barrier. It would also help alleviate the cost of having to tow dredged materials long distances by barge, according to Going.

“It’s basically putting back dredged material from its source, where it came from,” said Going. “And if we are able to do this, we’ll be able to create a situation that solves some of the problems that we have otherwise.

“And part of the plan would be, if we are able to get it and get approval to put dredged material there, at some point, we would be able to plant it with wild rice and oats and that sort of thing, cat tails, beneficial plants and improve it, get some habitat back and so forth,” he continued.