If you don't want to read a long email this is your chance to delete right now. Since I have been averaging about 5 requests a day for updates on dredging and lake level forecasts I thought I would send out this email. DREDGING. Although the average visit to the marina would not see any dredging activity, the process is going well. The firm hired to do the design work for dredging (obtaining permissions and permits, design work, bidding package, construction testing), is about 90% done with their work. We have identified a few areas that we can pump the spoils to. This is critical since hauling spoils offsite is very expensive and would cut into the budget for actual dredging work. Pumping the spoils offsite is much more economical. A meeting has been set up with Army Corp for approval of the spoils site. Once design work is complete and we have sign-off with Army Corp. DFCM will complete the bidding package. At this time it is expected the request for bids will go out early January. At that point bidders will have two weeks to submit bids. Bids will be evaluated and the successful bid will be awarded at which time contracts will be signed. Then the successful bidder can begin mobilization and then dredging can begin. Mobilization time for the successful bidder is an unknown but it is anticipated that dredging will begin sometime this winter. We are almost there. We will have one more dredging meeting before the Bottom-of-the-Pit party so I hope to have some good news to share with you at that time. Now as I stated in earlier emails and meetings, the water level situation has changed since PARKS began looking at how much dredging would need to be done. We had an incredibly bad winter last year bringing lake levels so low it necessitated pulling almost all boats from the marina. Last spring we anticipated having to pull ALL the boats from the marina and figure out how we were going to access the lake for Search & Rescue efforts. But a cooler and wetter late spring and summer saved us by mitigating a harsh winter loss of moisture. But the original dredging estimates (spoils needing to be removed) of last winter no longer hold true. What this means is we do not know if the 1.5 million dollars allocated for dredging is going to be enough to dredge the new channel and the whole marina. We hope the successful bidder can do all the work for the allocated money. But we have had to prioritize areas of dredging just in case it won't. So here are some decisions that have been made to-date: 1. We will dredge a new channel and abandon the old channel. The new channel will go straight out towards Promontory. This will be a great savings in dredging money as the new path will be much shorter and safer. 2. We will do suction dredging. This will mean it is very unlikely that a coffer dam will be constructed and the boats that are now in the water should be able to stay 3. Priority number 1 is a new channel. Priority number 1 is to dredge the NW basin to a depth to accommodate deeper draft boats. Priority number 1 is to dredge I dock. 4. Priority number 2 is to dredge the rest of the south basin to accommodate all boats 5. Priority number 3 is to change the marina mouth to prevent further silting. All priority number 1 items were identified to gain successful access to the lake as well as accommodate all current slip renters. If we do not have enough money to dredge the WHOLE marina we can relocated boats from J and K dock to the NW basin until further funds can be found or the lake, once again, begins to rise. We have enough empty slips in the NW basin to accommodate all the current slip renters if it is necessary to temporarily relocate some boats from the south basin. We have had some great luck during the early stages of dredging preparation. It looks like we can dig below the hard pan of the marina located at the 4188' level. The suction dredging equipment shouldn't have much problem with that. And spoils samples tested at acceptable levels (heavy metal levels contained in the spoils). But we should also be prepared for temporary delays during the actual dredging. Suction dredge equipment is vulnerable to temporary breakdowns when it sucks up lines and other debris in the marina. How many of you have had something drop into the marina from your boat? We know there is a lot of line in the marina. We have found two outboards in the marina. Add to that canopies, boat covers, sails, tools, cell phones, beer cans, bottles, winch handles, etc. LAKE LEVELS. We have had another very lousy beginning of the water year for I was hoping that we had changed patterns. But October only brought 39% precipitation. And November was worse at 29%. There has been a very strong high pressure camped out over northern Utah that has crushed all storms that hit it. But we may be seeing a significant switch in patterns. NOAA (NWS) has predicted a drier than normal winter for the northern Pacific states and a wetter than normal winter for southwest U.S. The Great Salt Lake Drainage area was predicted to either be wetter-than-normal or drier-than-normal (don't you just love weather people). Well it started out being drier. Yet something is happening out in the Pacific and the Pacific NW is getting slammed with storms now. And it looks as if the high pressure camped over norther Utah may be moving out. The current forecast models show northern Utah may be in for a wetter cycle through December. I have also talked to water watch experts. They indicate that early snowpack isn't as critical to spring runoff as is late winter and early spring snowpack. Remember that we are in a Super El-Nino weather cycle. It appears whatever happens it will be big. This could mean big drought for us. Or it could mean big moisture for us. NOAA is currently predicting we will have equal chances of wet or dry early winter with a wetter-than-normal late winter and spring. Reservoir levels are better than the previous year. Ground water was better than the previous year also. These are two key factors to a good spring runoff. Now we just need the snow. CRANE DAY As soon as dredging has progressed far enough to get boats in I will schedule crane days. It will take about five days to get everyone back in the water so I will likely disperse the crane days over a couple months. Once dredging begins please start working on the bottoms of your boats or prepare them to go back in the water. We will not be able to keep the boats in the parking lot this summer. Also make sure your trailers are moveable. Last spring's crane days were quite the challenge with some of the mobility issues of some trailers. We will have plans to store many of the cradles and stands on-site. More details on that in the coming months. BOTTOM-Of-THE-PIT PARTY The Annual Bottom-of-the-Pit Party is Saturday, December 19th from 11am through 3pm. This is the longest running tradition at Great Salt Lake Marina starting back in the early 1970's. It is a social for the whole marina community. It is an open style party with people bringing their favorite chili dishes to feed the masses. There is always some very good chili served during this party so don't miss out. Prizes will be given for Best Tasting, Most Original, and Spiciest! For those not into cooking chili side dishes are always welcome. SLIP CONTRACTS We will begin to email slip contract packages in the next few days. At this time I have decided to only send contracts to those boat owners that have boats either in the water or in dry storage. Once dredging work begins we will send contracts to the rest of the slip renters who have boats in the parking lot. For those that have boats in the parking lot we will still send an email out requesting updates of addresses, phone numbers, etc. Congratulations to those that made it through this whole email. Thanks Dave Dave Shearer Harbor Master Great Salt Lake State Marina Antelope Island State Marina 801-209-9142
