Project to dredge Suffolk waters

After decades without dredging, a series of Suffolk waterways will undergo a $3 million upkeep project.

The project will dredge along the Mastic/Shirley peninsula, including the Forge River, which has not been dredged since 1999. Other waterways on the list have not been dredged since the 1960s and '70s, according to county officials.

"This is a major step forward for the safety and health of the Forge River," said Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone, who Thursday used the Forge River Boat Club in Mastic to announce the October launch of the project.

It was approved by the county legislature on Tuesday.

The project's funding covers the cost of removing more than 90,000 cubic yards from 11 tributaries of the Forge River and Narrow Bay, which feed into the Great South Bay.

The dredging will improve tidal flow to the river, and help improve access to the bay for boaters and fishermen, said Legis. Kate Browning (WF-Shirley).

"Many of these waterways are long overdue for navigational safety improvements," she said.

Home Creek, Lons Creek and Poospanick Creek were last dredged in 1967. Johns Neck Creek and Unchachogue Creek will be dredged for the first time in their recorded history, county officials said.

Browning said the project will also bring some "short term improvements" to the Forge River, which is currently being studied by the Army Corps of Engineers to determine the cause of high levels of nitrogen in the water.

"The Forge River is going to need a substantial amount of resources at its disposal to remedy its problems," Browning said.