Point O’ Woods Receives $107,500 Grant for Channel Dredging

OLD LYME, CT – The Point O’ Woods Association has received a $107,500 state grant to help dredge a channel connecting the marina to Long Island Sound.

The Connecticut Port Authority Board of Directors approved the funding under the sixth round of its Small Harbor Improvement Projects Program (SHIPP), according to an Oct. 28 email from the port authority.

The grant will help cover the cost of removing accumulated sand from the channel. Point O’ Woods Association Board of Governors President Abe Krisst said Friday that the project is still in the permitting process, but was optimistic dredging can begin in the spring.

The Old Lyme Board of Selectmen in September unanimously approved a resolution supporting the private beach association’s grant application. The association estimated the dredging project would cost approximately $215,000, with Point O’ Woods covering the remaining expenses through its budget.

Authority guidelines required the application, which was prepared by the association, to be submitted by the town.

Krisst thanked the town and Old Lyme Fire Department for its support. He credited a letter from the fire department included with the grant application for demonstrating dredging the channel will have benefits outside of the association.

 “This project will help with Long Island Sound access for our marina members, but the boat ramp and channel are also a very important access point for the Old Lyme Fire Department to Long Island Sound in case of emergencies,” he said.

The project will also help to protect the flow of water to the nature preserve west of the beach association where the Three Mile River empties, according to Krisst.

He said the association plans to repair the channel’s bulkheads and jetty “in future years,” and may seek grant funding if opportunities become available.

Krisst attributed the sand accumulation in part to structural problems involving the bulkhead and jetty. The association has made temporary repairs to the jetty while developing plans for more permanent repairs, which he said are also in the permitting process.