From winter driving salt, to fertilizers, and material for asphalt and concrete, the Saginaw River is the preferred method of transportation for many businesses shipping into Mid-Michigan because of its affordability.
Months of river dredging, or sediment removal has only made the channel more business friendly, said Saginaw County Public Works Commissioner James Koski. He has made it a labor of love organizing the dredging, at a time when he said the need was most pressing.
Before the dredging, “the boats didn’t want to come anymore,” he said. The process helps to widen the water and increase its depth. Otherwise boats have to lighten loads which can be less efficient.
The river was last dredged about 25 years ago. The biggest hold up? No where to put the sediment, Koski said.
Crews were contracted to not only remove decades-old sediment from critical areas such as the 6th Street Turning Basin in Saginaw County (a key region for boats to turn around), but the Dredge Material Disposal Facility was constructed between Bay and Saginaw Counties. This is a specialized area where sediment can separate from the water and the water can recede back into the river.
The sediment resting spot looks much like a sandy beach compete with sea shells, pieces of wood and other items you’d find at the bottom of a body of water. Now that the most critical region has been dredged, crews are focusing on the outer Bay, operating on $4 million for this year.
"It helps the marketing of the Saginaw and Bay County area, because it's all 1 part,” Koski said. “This is a very important part of the whole Great Lakes Region."
