President Joe Biden recently signed into law the Water Resources Development Act of 2024, focusing on conservation and development of water resources. It authorizes the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to do the work.
“I always say that we have to be both conscious and protect both the ecology and the economy of the Great Lakes, which we can do. We just have to be smart about it.”
U.S. Representative Bill Huizenga says one such project would decrease the need for dredging one of Michigan’s busiest ports. A feasibility study will explore deepening Holland Harbor.
“The idea would be, in my mind, to save money in the long run if you just expand it a little bit, make it deeper so that you aren’t going to have to do it as often.”
The Zeeland Republican says the outer harbor is 23 feet deep while the inner harbor within Lake Macatawa is 21 feet deep. During its most recent bi-annual dredging in April, around 31,000 cubic yards of sediment were removed from the harbor.
“Currently there’s aggregate and scrap metal that goes in and out of there, so we have some very large laker ships that come in and out of there and they need to have minimum depths. It’s a dual use, right? It’s both an economic harbor as well as a recreational harbor.”
