Eau Gallie River muck dredging pauses for manatee season

The district is overseeing a project that is removing muck from the Eau Gallie River in Melbourne.

PALM BAY, Fla., April 17, 2018 — Muck dredging in the Eau Gallie River will pause until early June while manatees are most active in the Indian River Lagoon tributary.

Since dredging began in February 2017, approximately 302,000 cubic yards of muck have been removed from the Eau Gallie River in Melbourne and pumped to a storage facility on property owned by Brevard County. The goal is to remove more than 630,000 cubic yards of the gooey black organic material.

The project includes provisions for temporarily halting dredging in spring, when manatees are most active in the Eau Gallie River and other waterways.  This temporary pause in operations also permits the district to take advantage of the relatively dry weather. This is the perfect time to remove stored muck and make room for more.

Dredging is expected to begin again during the first week of June. For more information on the ongoing efforts, check out www.sjrwmd.com/EGRET