US Army Corps of Engineers makes draft of proposals
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QUINCY IL -- For years, the Quincy Bay has been overcome with large amounts of sediment...All that sediment, especially in the cut through area, make it difficult for boats to pass through the waters safely and without getting stuck. And the Quincy Parks District has been forced to dredge the bay regularly to remove the sediment...In fact, a contractor will be dredging there next week...but the dredging isn't a permanent fix for the problem. And studies by the parks district and U-S Army Corps of Engineers speculate that if a solution isn't found, recreational boating, hunting and fishing will be limited, and wildlife could suffer.
We asked "Has any money been waste up to this point in trying to find a temporary solution instead of something long term?"
"I don't see it that way. In terms of a temporary solution, I don't know of any that have been applied. Maintenance drudging has been a fact of life for decades in the Mississippi River basin so it's part of the operation and maintenance requirements for most facilities up and down the Mississippi river basin..I don't see that as a waste at all," Quincy Parks District director Mike Parks said.
The Parks District will meet tonight to discuss the report on the bay by the US Army Corps of Engineers. Because the bay is in the Mississippi River, it's considered a *federal* waterway. So anything beyond drudging will be the corps of engineer's responsibility. Many people have suggested closing off the bay's cut through to stop the flow of sediment.. But parks district director Mike Parks says that could make the problem worse.
"The cut through, in addition to delivering 22 percent of the sediment load, it also delivers a scouring action through the current that's there--so that's a benefit for the middle and lower bay. So if that were to go away or be stopped in some way, that could create even worse problems in the lower bay," Parks said.
The corps of engineers is considering adding a rock wall at the cut through's entrance, which would stop almost all sediment from entering the bay. The current proposals would have*no* impact on local parks district funding...However, Mike Parks says that any corps spending on the bay would have to be approved by the U-S Congress...a process that could take months, or even years.
