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Weeki Wachee dredging
A portion of the Weeki Wachee River that has become shallow over time is being dredged by hand to make it deeper. Aaron Mesmer reports.
WEEKI WACHEE, Fla. - A restoration project now underway in the Weeki Wachee River Channel in Hernando County should improve conditions for everyone and everything, the Southwest Florida Water Management District said Wednesday.
Divers are hand-dredging, or vacuuming up sediment and silt from the channel bed, a mile-and-a-half stretch of the channel near Roger's Park.
"Submerged aquatic vegetation is very important to the river bottom habitats for fish wildlife, for manatee passage to have that depth and there are limestone formations at the bottom of the river that are also very important for that habitat diversity," said Janie Hagberg, the chief engineer and the project manager with SWFWMD.
A diver dredges a portion of the Weeki Wachee River.
Hagberg said the portion of the Weeki Wachee River Channel being restored has been impacted by erosion, historic river widening and recreational use, resulting in swallowing.
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The approximately $2.2 million project is expected to be finished in about a year. Officials with SWFWMD said the river will remain open during dredging.