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Dredging is the process of removing silt and sand from the bottom of a waterway that has accumulated over time. It is often used to improve navigation for commercial and recreational boating.

Overview

Occoquan River Federal Navigation Channel Improvements Project Map

Click map to enlarge

The Occoquan River Federal Navigation Channel Improvements Project is a collaborative effort among Fairfax County, Prince William County and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Its purpose is to dredge a six mile long portion of the river to a depth of nine feet, widening the undwater channel to 200 feet, in order to improve commercial and recreational navigation. This section of the Occoquan River is between Channel Marker Number 2 and the bridge at U.S. Route 1.

A mechanical dredge will be used to remove approximately 40,000 cubic yards of silty and sandy material from the riverbed. This material will be barged to an off-load location along the Prince William County shoreline where it will be off loaded into sealed dump trucks and transported to the Prince William County landfill for disposal.

Purpose

The channel was last dredged in 1962. Since that time there has been a dramatic increase in the amount of sediment in the channel, mostly due to the impact of the extensive local land development that has occurred over the last 40 years. Due to the increase in sediment, the current channel has become shallower, posing a significant obstacle to commercial and recreational navigation, which require greater channel depths.

Commercial users are forced to lighten their barge loads, reduce the number of trips per day, and schedule their shipments around a rising tide to avoid grounding and damage to their vessels. Recreational and charter craft also experience problems navigating the channel. These problems induced vessel groundings or collisions with submerged objects, endangered lives, and caused thousands of dollars in damage.

The project was approved by the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors on October 18, 2004.

For more information on the Occoquan River Federal Navigation Channel Improvements Project, please contact the Stormwater Planning Division, 703-324-5500, TTY 711 or via e-mail.