The Dredge Report
Boy; I'm getting to think getting more commercial use out of Humboldt Bay is as much a pipe dream as re-establishing rail service to Humboldt. Not only has shipping volume dropped significantly over the years, now it looks like it will be even costlier to dredge the bay- perhaps to the point of being prohibitive.
Unlike the idea of rebuilding the railroad, which I think is not just a pipe dream but silly under any foreseeable circumstances, I would like to see the bay used more. It doesn't look like that's going to happen.
posted by Fred Mangels @ 8:39 AM
12 comments
12 Comments:
Only the dredging for the marinas may be more expensive. The dredge of the shipping channels already goes out to the HOODS site.
Uh yeah, there is nothing up here. The place is a backwater shithole. Its only going to get worse.
With that attitude you should find another place to live. For your own sake as well as ours.
Why is it so important to dredge the marina? The fishing fleet is disappearing, there is not great revenue generated by the slips. Is this taxpayer subsidies for boat owners?
Just as a comment for the ranters that Humboldt doesn't receive an equitable share of State and federal funds. These dredgings are largely paid by the State and Feds.
But not the one that is the subject here. It is paid for by the Harbor District and the city of Eureka.
It's my understanding that the Mad River used to empty into the bay making it the deep water port seen in the old photos of Arcata Bay. Tyee City was built to house the workers that diverted to river to the beach, where it has been trying to establish a mouth these many years. If the river would be diverted back into the Mad River Slough dredging would not be necessary, Humboldt Bay would once again be a deep water port.
Sorry hucktunes the opposite is true: the river used to be diverted into the bay by way of a wooden dam. The dam remnants are still there and you can see the channel where the water went into the bay, now filled with willow trees. Unfortunately the diversion added massive quantities of silt, not water depth, making the bay shallower. It did happen at Tyee City.
Sorry. I've heard about this before; That the Mad River ran through present day Arcata and, after that was over with, the Bay got plugged up.
Don't know what the real issues are here, but I'll suggest there's nothing wrong with putting the Mad River back where it was.
Problem is; Who will be displaced by such a scheme?
I can't help but think some people live where the Mad used to run.
What to do about that?
Oops. Didn't notice the previous post. But that's not what I'm accustomed to hearing.
Seems to me I've always heard it was a good thing having the Mad go into the Bay.
I'm interested in this suggestion that the Mad was DIVERTED to the Bay some time back.
Never heard that before.
Heard it was the other way around.
The Mad River used to run through what is now the Giuntoli lane area, meandering through what is now the Potowat Village property, then out through the bottoms to Mad River Beach area. The places that constantly flood around 299 offramp are the old riverbed. The loggers put in a dam and canal to the mad river slough at tyee city to move logs where they wanted. The river probably did empty into the bay, but not naturally in the white man's time, by my estimation. The dam remnants and the canal are visible; the canal is on the left before the first house heading toward the beach, now overgrown, but there. You may be able to see the dam remnants from the hammond trail railroad bridge.
On a different topic, I heard the beach where the dredge spoils were put has become quicksand-not obvious to the eye, until your car starts sinking in it. Word on the street is someone's rig got stuck and they had to climb out the windows in a hurry. When law enforcement showed up they got stuck too. The water table probably goes further up the beach since they dug it up and filled it with dredge spoils.
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