Quonochontaug Pond dredging works completed

JF Brennan of Wisconsin has completed dredging works on the Quonochontaug Pond straddling the municipalities of Charlestown and Westerly in Rhode Island.

The US$2 million project, funded in part by a federal grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), began on January 8 and was completed in less than three weeks.

The contractor used two dredgers and other equipment to remove over 53,000 cubic metres of material.

The dredging works were carried out to improve navigation and to make the depth of the pond’s breachway more favourable for the growth of eelgrass (Zostera marina), an important element in the production of biomass fuel.