Dredging Project Approved In Burlington

Boats docked at Perkins Pier in Burlington Harbor, where the city’s upcoming dredging project will restore safe water depths and improve access for Lake Champlain boaters. Photo/Burlington Parks, Recreation & Waterfront.

After a season in which low water levels caused problems for boaters on Lake Champlain, officials in Burlington, Vermont have approved the city’s first dredging project in 25 years.

The Burlington City Council recently approved a project to dredge the lake bottom near the city’s two marinas in Burlington Harbor: Community Marina Boathouse and Perkins Pier.

Officials said they hope to have the project completed before the boating season begins next summer.

The project is expected to cost $631,000.

The approval for the dredging project comes after a season in which the lake’s water levels fell to several feet below normal, and at times some boat slips were sitting in mud.

In July, four people were rescued on Lake Champlain after their boat struck a reef. Police attributed the incident to low water levels on the lake and that hazards that were usually passable were now much closer to the water’s surface.

Officials with the Burlington parks department said dredging in a highly-trafficked area like Burlington Harbor is typically done every 10 to 15 years. However, the Burlington waterfront has not been dredged in 25 years, and that was only a partial dredging.