Will Prince William leaders take state cash, dig deeper in Neabsco Creek dredging project?

WOODBRIDGE — Next week, Prince William County leaders will need to make a choice: Dredge the Neabsco Creek as planned, or accept more tax funds and dig deeper.

The county could win a $250,000 grant from the state that could be added to the $750,000 in monies Prince William County allocated for dredging at the entrance to the creek, where it meets the Potomac River at Hampton’s Landing Marina near Woodbridge.

“That’s a pretty significant win,” Deputy County Executive Chris Price told members of the Board of Supervisors. “This is what we were going to pursue. This is what the Board wanted.”

The additional money, also coupled with $250,000 in matching funds from area marina owners, would total $1.25 million and would allow the dredging operation to dig down to six feet to remove silt. That’s about a foot more than what county officials had first thought they would have enough money to do.

Last March, the Coast Guard removed buoys from the entrance the creek and said the water was too shallow for use by recreational boaters. The waterway remained closed for the season, and that prompted action by the Board of Supervisors to dredge the waters.

Crews in recent months have been working for months to remove an estimated 17,000 cubic yards of silt from the water. They’ve loaded up on trucks to be deposited at the county landfill.

Price said if the Board takes the additional grant money from the state, that means the fairways — the ramps used by boaters to put their craft in the water — will be free of silt and sand.

“…if we’re going to spend a big chunk of change, we’re better off doing it right than coming back a few years from now,” said Coles District Supervisor Marty Nohe. “Fairways are the most important part… and the water is a great tourism asset we have in Prince William County.”

Under an agreement drawn up last spring, the marinas would be responsible for dredging the fairways. With the new money, now they could focus on dredging the areas around the marinas and the areas of water leading to the main channel, which the county is paying to dredge.

Others balked at the idea of spending more to expand the scope of the project. By doing so, argued Gainesville District Supervisor Peter Candland, it puts the county on the hook to continue to dredge the waterway in perpetuity. The water was last dredged 20 years ago by the federally-funded Army Corps of Engineers.

“It’s only in government where we spend more money we save money. It’s mission creep, we don’t have to spend every taxpayer dollar,” said Candland.

This time around, money for the project has come exclusively from local and state sources. Brentsville District Supervisor Jeanine Lawson said that’s because Virginia’s leaders in both the House and Senate in Washington, D.C. “have failed” to win federal money for the project.

Supervisors will decide on Jan. 22 on whether or not to accept the additional state funds. Federal officials mandate the project must be complete by Feb. 15, before fish begin to spawn in the river.

Any unspent portion of the grant will be used to refund the county for it’s $750,000 contribution, added Price.