March 11,2019, The Islander, Page 5
Jekyll Creek dredging project to begin March 18
Staging starts Monday, March 11
A contractor for the U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers is set to begin
dredging Jekyll Creek north of Down
ing Musgrove Causeway to the St. Si
mons Sound on March 18.
Cottrell Contracting, of Chesa
peake, Va., will remove about 200,000
cubic yards of sediment from the east
ern 75 feet of the channel, which is
part of the Atlantic Intracoastal Wa
terway. Crews are slated to arrive on
scene March 11.
The Corps and other groups have
had long-standing navigational con
cerns over the Jekyll Creek portion of
the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway.
It is the shallowest point in more than
160 miles of Georgia’s portion of the
waterway. Jekyll Creek has not been
dredged since 1998, and its sediments
are fine-grain with very low sand con
tent, often called “pluff mud.”
The aim of this pilot project is to
develop economically efficient and en
vironmentally acceptable methods of
managing dredge material. This $6
million, federally funded project will
bring the channel’s depth to 10 feet
and is expected to be complete April
27.
The removed sediment will be
placed in two locations using new
methods meant to keep Georgia’s sedi
ments in the coastal system and help
keep marshes healthy.
The first sediment-placement loca
tion is north of Jekyll Creek in the St.
Simons Sound, about 800 feet south
of the St. Simons Pier. This location,
commonly called the “Deep Hole,” is
naturally deeper than surrounding
areas in the sound and is between 60
and 80 feet deep. For comparison, oth
er areas in the channel are dredged
to about 38 feet deep. About 97 per
cent of the dredged sediment will be
placed in the Deep Hole, where tides
naturally spread materials. This sedi
ment will be deposited by pipe near
the bottom of the Deep Hole, about
five feet from the sea floor. Commer
cial and recreational traffic through
the sound will not be impacted by this
sediment placement. Scientists with
the Jacksonville, Fla.-based firm LG2
Environmental Solutions will monitor
the movement of the placed sediment
for up to two years.
The remaining dredge sediments
will be placed on nearby marsh us
ing a spray technique new to Georgia
known as “rainbowing.” About 5,000
cubic yards of sediment is scheduled
to be pumped onto the marsh north of
the Jekyll Island Airport from April
20 to April 25. This area of marsh
has a lower elevation, which makes
it susceptible to saltwater inundation
as sea level rises. The sediments will
be sprayed into the marsh onto a five-
acre area in a thin layer surrounded
by coconut-fiber containment logs.
The goal of spraying dredge sediments
into this area is to raise the elevation
one to two inches in some places and
up to one foot in others, allowing new
marsh grass to grow atop it at higher
elevations. Another five-acre location
to the north will act as a control area
for the project. Scientists from Geor
gia Southern University and the Uni
versity of South Carolina will monitor
the placement and control areas for a
two-year period to see how the thin-
layer placement of sediments affected
the marsh. The Corps has had previ
ous successes with thin-layer place
ment in New Jersey, Maryland and
Cinema Gourmet presents City Lights
Cinema Gourmet, Golden Isles Arts
and Humanities’ popular series pairing
delicious food with classic films, contin
ues on Thursday, March 14 with per
haps the most cherished film by Charlie
Chaplin, City Lights.
The film’s screening and discussion
are paired with the culinary delights of
Chef Judah Lynch and Indigo Coastal
Shanty. The evening’s events begin
with delicious food at 6:30 p.m.
City Lights was made in 1931 and
tells a story of love, tragedy and hope as
a homeless tramp meets and instantly
falls in love with a beautiful, albeit
blind, flower seller. Roger Ebert noted
that this film comes the closest to repre
senting all die different notes of Charlie
Chaplin’s genius.
It contains the slapstick, the pa
thos, the pantomime, the effortless
physical coordination, the melodra
ma, the bawdiness, the grace, and, of
course, the Little Tramp-the charac
ter said, at one time, to be the most
famous image on earth.
Though made after the advent of
sound, City Lights is the epitome of
the silent comedy.
Tickets are $18 and can be pur
chased by phone with a credit card or
in person at the Ritz Theatre, Tues
days through Fridays 9 a.m. -5 p.m.
Tickets may be purchased securely
online at goldenislesarts.org. Tick
ets for the talk and movie only may
be purchased at the door the night
of the screening for $7.
The Ritz Theatre is located at
1530 Newcastle St., in downtown
Brunswick. For more information,
go to www.goldenislesarts.org or
call (912) 262-6934.
Louisiana.
These techniques are part of a “ben
eficial use of sediments” pilot project
and have never been performed in
Georgia. The primary goal of the proj
ect partners is to proactively explore
whether these techniques can be used
in the future to build a more resilient
Georgia coast.
In designing this pilot strategy,
the Corps’ Jacksonville and Savan
nah districts worked with the Corps’
Regional Sediment Management
Center of Expertise, as well as other
federal, state and nonprofit agencies.
The Georgia Department of Natural
Resources’ Coastal Resources Divi
sion (CRD), the Jekyll Island Author
ity (JIA), the environmental nonprofit
The Nature Conservancy, the Nation
al Oceanographic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA), the U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service and the U.S. En
vironmental Protection Agency (EPA)
were all involved in developing the pi
lot strategy. Planning began in 2016
with a visit to the site by the Corps’
South Atlantic Division commander.
In subsequent months, the Corps held
stakeholder meetings and public hear
ings while coordinating with CRD and
JIA.
CRD conducted side-scan sonar and
water quality surveys of the deep hole
site in June 2017 with additional sur
veys at both material placement sites
in October through December of 2017.
CRD also helped coordinate imagery
and elevation data at the thin-layer
placement site.
JIA and The Nature Conservancy
purchased an elevated monitoring
camera system to provide imagery of
the project as it progresses. The pub
lic will be able to access this camera’s
feed by clicking here. For more infor
mation, please call CRD at 912-262-
3140.Cinema Gourmet: City Lights
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