Old Saybrook Coves may get dredged

Waste from area waterways may find second life.

• OLD SAYBROOK - The causeway over South Cove may be more than just another bridge. It may be acting as a dam. Silt comes in under the causeway with high tide and goes into the cove where there is no energy,' First Selectman Mike Pace explained. 'Then, when low tide comes around the silt gets stuck there. The causeway acts as a dam.'
• Pace said the South Cove Committee has been looking for ways to allow the silt to flow back out into the Long Island Sound rather than allowing it to settle. One idea that Pace has been kicking around would involve adding a slight incline to the bridge, increasing the space under the causeway. Such an increase would allow for small motor boats to travel into the cove. The motors from the boats would stir up the stagnant silt and would allow it to travel back out into the Sound.
• 'We could put moorings in the cove then,' Pace said. 'After all, who wants to live next to the marsh when they can have open water?'
• South Cove isn't the only area in town that collects Silt. Pace said North Cove has similar problems. 'I worked with Rob Simmons and Joe Lieberman to help us get money for North Cove,' Pace said, adding that the $750,000 government grant would only pay for 'a little part where the sailboats are.'
• The other part of North Cove that needs dredging, Pace said, is where the old landfill was. Town officials are currently working to turn the former landfill into a recreation area. 'We have a tremendous asset with North Cove,' Pace said, noting that once all of North Cove is dredged, the town may consider adding moorings that would be available for rent, providing the town with an additional revenue source.
• Once the waterways are dredged, however, the silt is traditionally disposed of in Long Island Sound. Pace said he would like to see the material used as cover for the soon-to-close Hartford landfill. [org pub Pictorial Gazette, by Laura Robida]