'Long Dredge' Project Underway at Mecox Bay

There’s a battle against Mother Nature underway in Bridgehampton this week, as contractors toil in the frigid, blustery air, dredging the channel from Mecox Bay to the Atlantic Ocean.

A so-called “long dredge,” carving a 1,000-foot-by-200-foot channel from the bay to the sea, used to be a regular undertaking, “a routine opening,” according to Scott Horowitz, president of the Southampton Town Trustees.

As the Town Trustees wrestled with the State Department of Environmental Conservation over the permits for the long dredge, the maintenance of the channel has languished over the last seven or eight years, Horowitz explained. Only a narrower cut could be made, often on an emergency basis.

A recent agreement allowed the town to work under a five-year DEC permit, with the long dredge permitted once per year and regular openings being trigger dependent and subject to compliance with the endangered species act — protected piping plovers nest in the area.

The permit allows for periodic dredging except for the period between April 1 and August 31. If it becomes necessary during that time, the Trustees may apply for an exception by demonstrating the need, outlining the work, and showing any nesting birds in the area and how they will be protected.

The Trustees had asked for a 10-year permit like they used to enjoy, but DEC officials granted a five-year permit instead, due to the changeable environmental conditions at the site. As the permit term wanes, they may apply for an extension.

The last time a long dredge was performed, town officials were not allowed to remove the sand, so it slid back into the interior of the bay.

The broad sand delta that has formed in the southern end of the bay has made it difficult for the Trustees to keep the cut flowing long enough to lower bay levels and allow an exchange of water with the ocean that is critical to raise salinity levels.

Once the dredging is completed, the sand will be used to bolster dunes west of the cut, as part of a settlement in litigation with homeowners who live downdraft of the cut. They’ll be able to buy sand, up to an estimated 12,500 cubic yards of it, from the Trustees.

The project began about two weeks ago, with an initial cut made to drain the bay water down low enough so machines could get in and begin attacking the sand delta.

Heavy weather came through and filled the cut back up, Horowitz reported. “It’s been challenging,” he said. “We keep having severe weather and very, very high tides.”

Workers from H&L Contracting had a good rhythm going, but Mother Nature wanted to alter it, in an area the Trustee president described as “very dynamic.” In fact, last weekend, workers had to come and move the machinery to higher ground.

Looking at the forecast by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Horowitz noted more turbulent weather on the way with 25-knot winds and gusts to 35 knots predicted for Friday along with seas between 9 and 14 feet. And that’s expected to worsen after nightfall. “When you’ve got 12 to 17 foot seas pounding the coast, it’s going to be very, very challenging,” Horowitz noted.

Under good scenarios, the long dredge project should take about three weeks. For this go round, Horowitz said, “We’re doing the best we can to get this done.” The Trustees, he said, “have been battling Mother Nature for as long as I can remember.”

Opening the cut from Mecox Bay to the Atlantic is an endeavor that dates back to Native Americans. The bay captures rainfall, and when the depth rises, the water starts to lose its salinity, which is bad for the shellfish that make the bay their home. It also means the groundwater rises and inundates the cesspools buried on properties bordering the pond, releasing contaminants into the water body. Crops on nearby farms drown in the saltwater. Water also begins to flood basements, and the road runoff, which includes fertilizers from neighboring lawns and farm fields, adds to the pollution in the bay.

In recent years, getting the cut cut has been thwarted by the presence of federally protected piping plovers. Any action that interferes with their nesting is a federal offense.

One hot day last June, the problem had reached such a saturation point that volunteers deployed to the beach with shovels, looking to open the cut old school.