Hanover County needs money for inlet dredging

New Hanover County has asked the state of North Carolina to provide dredging funds for the maintenance of Carolina Beach Inlet.

In a letter sent Thursday, county officials asked Gov. Beverly Perdue to use Division of Water Resources contingency funds for the maintenance of the inlet because there is no money in the federal 2012 budget dredging. The corps received $300,000 in federal funds this year to dredge Carolina Beach Inlet, but that money was already used.

It is the responsibility of the Army Corps of Engineers to dredge most of the state’s shallow-draft inlets. The inlets must be dredged two to four times a year to prevent shoaling, the buildup of sand that happens with tides, weather and natural erosion, Roger Bullock, chief of navigation of the corps Wilmington District, has said.

If Carolina Beach Inlet is not dredged and the water level is too low, boats must travel an extra 40 minutes or so to use Masonboro Inlet near Wrightsville Beach or the Cape Fear River to reach the ocean. That essentially means higher fuel costs, shorter fishing trips and a blow to the charter fishing industry. The inlet also provides “tidal flow and flushing of the Intracoastal Waterway and Snow’s Cut to the Cape Fear River,” according to the letter, and an alternate emergency access for the Coast Guard.

Fisherman have already noticed low water levels earlier this year. And when a hurricane hits, enough sand could wash into the inlets to make it unsafe for boaters to use them.

“Keeping the inlet open will avoid economical and environmental impacts to Carolina Beach Masonboro Island and tourism and recreation within New Hanover County,” Barfield writes in a July 7 letter to Perdue.

It is unclear if Perdue will release the funds for dredging. Calls to her office were not returned by press time.

Carolina Beach is also considering drafting its own letter asking the state to provide funds for dredging the Carolina Beach Inlet. In a request for action, Timothy Owens, Carolina Beach’s town manager, asked permission to write a letter to state elected officials and to urge anyone who uses the inlet to write a similar letter.

“Allowing unsafe conditions to occur in the inlet is not acceptable,” Owens writes in his request.

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