Replenishment efforts are underway at Southold Town Beach on North Road following the completion of a dredging project at Goldsmith Inlet in Peconic.
“The inlet was completely closed, and the New York State [Department of Environmental Conservation] was very helpful in opening that inlet up,” Southold Supervisor Al Krupski said.
The inlet is not navigable so typically is only dredged when it becomes completely closed off, which Mr. Krupski said has not happened for at least the last six years.
Goldsmith Inlet is part of a drainage system for a nearby pond and affects salinity for fish and crustaceans that breed in the area, said Tim Abrams, Southold Department of Public Works building maintenance supervisor.
“Some of that sand got moved down to Town Beach because of the rough condition of that beach, the way it’s disappeared over the years,” Mr. Krupski said. He described the replenishment project as “basic maintenance” for both the beach and the inlet.
Mr. Krupski hopes the 500 cubic yards of sand that were moved to Town Beach will last through 2025.
“It’s a very popular bathing beach,” Mr. Krupski said.“We have good water quality so people want to go to the beach and take advantage of the water. So it’s just important to try to keep that beach accessible for as long as possible.”
The Goldsmith Inlet dredging is one of several similar coastal maintenance projects undertaken in the area recently. Greenport Village officials approved a $24,000 dredging project in December after a commercial marina and other business owners called for action to fix the narrow harbor entrance, which had the potential to create a hazard for commercial and recreational boats, according to waterfront advisory committee chair Patrick Brennan.
A $3 million dredge project in Mattituck Inlet was completed in November by West Sayville-based marine contractor Seacoast Construction. Crews removed nearly 10,000 cubic yards of sediment and transported it to the Beneficial Dredge Facility in Staten Island to be used as landfill cover.