Dredging is about to begin at Porritt Landing.
Glenn Smith, the assistant senior administrative officer with the Town of Hay River, said the work will begin after the floating docks are removed.
"Our end of season is Sept. 25 per our bylaw for that facility," he said. "The boats should be out and then we'll remove the docks for the winter season. We'll remove the docks and get them dried off for storage, and, once that's done, we'll work through the dredging. The dredging will probably start the week of Sept. 30."
Paul Bickford/NNSL photo
The dredging will be done by an excavator on shore and will take place essentially south of the boat launch.
Smith estimated the work should only take a few days to remove the build up of silt.
"We want to make sure that it's a safe operating environment for the boats," he said. "It's a beautiful facility that the town has invested into in the last few years. It's just to ensure that boats aren't being damaged and it's a safe spot for boating activities there that are enjoyed by residents and tourists."
The town has planned for the dredging of the area since last year, and applied for a regulatory permit to do the work.
"It takes some time to go through the process of it," Smith noted. "I wouldn't say it was difficult, but it takes some time."
One of the conditions for the dredging is that there be no disruption to wildlife habitat.
"It will be monitored when we go to actually complete the activity," Smith said, noting the Department of Environment and Natural Resources will be on site to make sure things are going well.
The town official noted the silt built up this year with the low water level at the beginning of the summer.
"It certainly was more concerning," he said. "The intention is to hold the licence and do more regular maintenance activities work. Once you go through the first initial permitting process, it takes time, but after that we should be able to do kind of regular maintenance activities."
Smith was not aware of the last time that Porritt Landing was dredged.
The $40,000 in work this year is being funded by the GNWT.
The dredging will be completed by a local contractor.