Brandt Island, the man-made dredge material island located in the Morehead City Harbor, could get a major facelift.
Project Manager Chris Frabotta said that several things have changed since the existing dredge plan for Morehead City Harbor was approved in 1978, including: composition of shoal material, beach disposal compatability criteria, and local, state and federal environmental regulations. Therefore, the District is engaged in completing a Dredge Material Management Plan which will explore ways to expand Brandt Island’s disposal capacity. The District is currently evaluating the feasibility of raising and/or expanding the existing dikes of the island to allow 20 years capacity for inner harbor material.
“In the past, we’ve used Brandt Island as a sand recycling facility where we place material into the island every other year, then pumped it out on shoreline of Fort Macon and Atlantic Beach on eight to 10-year frequency,” he explained. “Now we’re planning to use Brandt Island as an upland disposal facility similar to Eagle Island at Wilmington Harbor. No beach quality material will be going into Brandt Island. It will only be used for non-suitable material, and there are no plans to take anything out for next 20 years.”
Frabotta said that the under the proposed plan, the District will still be placing sand along the shorelines of Fort Macon and Atlantic Beach. However, instead of the disposing of material onto the beach originating from the Inner Harbor it will now originate from the Ocean Bar (entrance channel).
Frabotta added , the Project Delivery Team is currently working toward awarding a contract to drill samples on Brandt Island. This sampling will be used to test for dike stability, and how high the dikes can be built for expansion for the 20 years of dredge material.