County Rebids Dredging Ponds, Original Bids Exceeded Funds

CREST HAVEN – According to Assistant County Engineer Kent Schellinger, a long-needed project to dredge three county ponds for environmental reasons must be re-bid based on the responses received from the initial bid announcement.
One pond is in the park, another is on Crest Haven Road and Route 9, and the third is located at Holmes Creek near the Cape May County Chamber of Commerce building.
“The project calls for a hydraulic dredging of sediment that has been building up since the 1930s when the three ponds were constructed by the WPA” (Works Progress Administration), Schellinger said. The county plans to fund the project through a state Department of Environmental Protection Clean Water grant.
The sediment to be removed and sanitized represents an environmental hazard because, over the decades, domestic and non-migratory birds have been defecating in the ponds; this causes bacterial growth that will result in local contamination if not mitigated.
Schellinger stated that the dredging process resembles an underwater vacuum cleaner that removes the loose sediment from the bottom, then forces it through a large sock-like device made of a “geo-textile” material.
The process is similar to that used by various drinking water purification systems. Once the material is trapped in the sack, a special coagulant creates purified clumps that can be safely returned to the pond.
Schellinger explained that the initial budget for this project was estimated to be approximately $350,000; the Clean Water grant totals $400,000.
Schellinger noted that the county received several bids, but the lowest bid was $1 million. The county policy is to issue a second bid in such cases; he has since learned that some companies which would have bid the project were unaware of the initial announcement. Those companies felt they could submit a more competitive bid that was in line with the budget, he said.
To contact Jim McCarty, email jmccarty@cmcherald.com.