Port Huron City Manager James Freed started the process of having the Black River Canal dredged before Labor Day and met with some initial resistance from the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE). After some persistence on Freed’s part, the Black River Canal will be dredged today.
The City of Port Huron has authorization to dredge up to 9,000 cubic yards of sand from the canal each year. So far in 2022, they have removed 7,900 cubic yards, which left just 1,100 cubic yards on the permit.
In an email to media earlier this week, Freed said, “During our last dredge, which was mild, we removed more than 3,017 cyd’s of material. The remaining 1,100 cyd’s of our permit wouldn’t be enough to open the canal to get boats through.”
After officials at EGLE initially said a thorough dredging of the canal would not quality for an emergency permit, Freed was able to secure a “minor permit” from EGLE to dredge up to 5,000 cubic yards from the canal.
The Port Huron Department of Public Works plans to dredge the canal today, which means the canal will be closed to boat traffic from the Tainter Gate to Lake Huron until work is complete.
Sand removed from the canal will be placed at Lakeside beach, so the public is asked to avoid the south end of Lakeside Park while contractors work to place the sand. There may also be slow traffic on Gratiot Avenue between Krafft Road and Holland Avenue while they work.
Reporting for WGRT – Jessie Wiegand
