Smithtown officials propose dredging to improve water safety near Kings Park bluff
Smithtown Senior Harbormaster Scott Roberts says dredging the river could help reduce the speed of the current by giving the water more room to flow.
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After a series of recent rescues and a fatal drowning earlier this year, Smithtown officials are working to improve safety at a treacherous section of water where the Nissequogue River meets the Long Island Sound.
The area near the Kings Park bluff is known for its powerful currents, which have proven hazardous for swimmers, boaters and kayakers.
On Sunday evening, those currents led to two separate emergency incidents: three kayakers had to be rescued from the Sound, and shortly after, two swimmers and a Jet Skier were pulled to safety from the river itself.
Town officials believe part of the solution lies beneath the surface.
Smithtown Senior Harbormaster Scott Roberts says dredging the river — the process of removing built-up sediment from the riverbed — could help reduce the speed of the current by giving the water more room to flow.
“You have a set amount of water that has to leave the river in a certain period of time,” Roberts explained. “And if it’s a narrow funnel it’s going to be a stronger current. If you dredge and give more area for that volume of water to pass through, it will be a little less of a current.”
The area was last dredged about two years ago. The town has already filed for a permit to carry out another round of dredging this fall.
Local boaters agree that action is needed.
“Make it safer,” said Darren Samson, who frequents the area by boat. “It’s just not a good situation.”
Officials from Suffolk County’s Department of Public Works, along with town representatives, are scheduled to tour the waterway later this week. The Harbormaster says that inspection had already been planned before Sunday’s rescues occurred.
Once the assessment is complete, the county is expected to decide on the next steps.
