LORAIN — When the water level gets too low in the Lorain Harbor, the solution is to dredge.

Harbors in Lorain and other nearby lake cities will be dredged over the next few months.

Dredging is a way to maintain federal navigation channels around the Great Lakes.  It involves removing sediments that have collected at the bottom of harbors and rivers, including Lorain’s Black River, and placing them in a confined disposal facility.

This helps ships by giving them a greater depth of water to move around in – at Lorain Harbor the depth is maintained at around 27 feet to allow common vessels safe passage.

Dredging allows boats to carry their full load and saves industries and businesses extra shipping costs, Michael Novak, executive director of the Lorain Port Authority, said. 

It also helps the environment by removing contaminants from the area.  The disposal facilities are designed to permanently or use them in other projects where they can be used safely.

The Lorain Harbor disposal facility, built in 1977, covers 58 acres and has been filled to its capacity of 1,850,000 cubic yards of dredged material.  The city and Army Corps of Engineers added an extra wall of earth to hold in this season’s haul.  “It is a stopgap until we develop another site for dredge material in the future,” said Novak.

Once a new site is found, the current facility will be converted into a mixed-use area with open space as well as waterfront retail, commercial buildings, and residences.

This year’s dredging is expected to be completed in mid-August.

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