Sharing an important update on the dredging of Southport Harbor, as notified by Bryan LeClerc, Harbor Master for Southport and Fairfield:

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) dredging crews will begin arriving at Southport Harbor on Monday, January 6, to begin the dredging!

The land crew will arrive first, with their land-based equipment, followed by the USACE dredge the Murden, a 156-foot long, 35-foot-wide vessel that is expected to arrive on January 10.

This will be a four-week long mission using powerful equipment to restore the channel to a nine-foot depth and a 100-foot width at low tide. As you know and have experienced, the channel is less than 50 feet wide, and in some places, only five feet of depth can be found at low tide due to sand and sediment deposited by the wind and current. The situation causes some boats to run aground at low tide and requires other boats to quickly take evasive action to avoid collisions due to one-way traffic.

This dredging is the result of a federal appropriation of over $1 million to remove 20,000 cubic yards from the Harbor, and deposit the material in an environmentally safe location to help nourish and develop oyster beds in Fairfield waters.

Rotating crews on land and aboard the dredge vessel will work 24 hours a day, seven days a week, in order to complete the project within the planned four-week schedule.

For anyone planning on heading out by boat during the next month, please note that there will be times that the harbor will be closed to entering and exiting boat traffic due to the size and restricted maneuverability of the Murden.

Bryan LeClerc

State of Connecticut Harbor Master
Fairfield and Southport

Thank you to our energetic and enthusiastic helpers from the
2023 Earth Day Cleanup @ Southport Park!

Check out our awesome volunteers from the 2019 Earth Day Cleanup! Thank you to everybody who participated.