Public Safety & Fueling Access Dredging at Marina
This project was undertaken as an addition to the Turning Basin Dredging & Dock Repair project.and was completed in November 2022.
Thank you for your patience during this part of our dredging journey!
Background
City Council has agreed to allocate funding each fiscal year for new dredging projects and dredging maintenance projects. For the 2022-2023 fiscal year, City Council authorized a dredging and dock repair project in the Turning Basin. During pre-construction planning for the Turning Basin project, the City identified the opportunity to complete a small dredging project aimed at improving public safety and fueling access at the Marina.
Excessive silt at the south end of the Marina is limiting access to the fueling station and the launch dock, especially at low tide. While this is an inconvenience for recreation vessels, it creates a hazard in terms of public safety: currently, the County Sheriff and the City of Petaluma's Fire and Police Departments must store their boats on trailers on land, limiting these agencies' response times.
With the Turning Basin dredging contractor already operating in the area, City staff have proposed expanding the scope of the Turning Basin project to include the south end of the Marina. Dredging this small sections would yield the following results:
- The dock on the south end of the Marina would be able to store the County Sherriff vessel and the City of Petaluma Police and Fire boats, thereby decreasing these agencies' response times for incidents in the River.
- Vessels would not have to wait until the highest tide to access the Marina’s fueling station.
- Several of the larger vessels (such as the sea scouts) docked at the ends of the Marina docks will have access restored to the river.
- This initial phase of dredging would help to create access to the back of the Marina, which will streamline future planned dredging events as the dredger would have to dig to the back of the Marina anyway.
Project Impacts
During dredging operations, there will be no access to the fueling station and the launch dock.
Project Timeline
Dredging operations would start in mid-October 2022 and finish no later than November 30, 2022, in accordance with the dredging and aquatic disposal restrictions (i.e., environmental work windows) imposed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE).
Project Manager
Erica Jacobs, MPA
[email protected]
707-787-0893
Airport & Marina Manager
Dan Cohen
[email protected]
Future Marina Dredging Projects
The overall objective of the future Marina dredging is to recover the full operational water depth for boating safety, navigation, and Marina operations.
The proposed dredging depth for phase one at the Marina is 6 feet below Mean Lower Low Water (-6’ MLLW) elevation plus a one-foot over dredge allowance. Approximately 17,150 cubic yards (cy) of material would need to be dredged to reach this depth. The full extent of the proposed dredging for phase one can be seen in the attached “Petaluma Marina Dredge Plan.”
Funding is still being determined for the dock repairs and future full dredging at the Petaluma Marina. Therefore, this work was not included in the Turning Basin dredging contract. The City is targeting FY 23/24 to complete the full dredging of the Marina, before the project’s California Fish and Wildlife permit expires, provided funding is secured.
