The Harbour Master writes in the KEBC Spring Newsletter 2010

As another year comes to an end it is a good time to take stock of where we are. I am sure that as a reader of this newsletter, your interest will be more towards the northern end of the harbour, so I will cover this in detail, but I will also try and give you an idea of what else has been going on.                                                  
At the November 2009 Harbour Board meeting the Board resolved to plan to conduct maintenance dredging of the Kingsbridge Basin and Batson over the winter of 2010/11.  This is now well under way and as I write, silt samples are being sent for analysis to confirm the silt is not contaminated and can be dredged safely.
Following the extremely successful dredging in 2009, utilising the Water Injection method, it is proposed to utilise this method again.  Initial meetings have been held with Natural England to ascertain the level of environmental monitoring they would accept within their assent to dredge within the Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).  Having gained confidence in the silt deposition model and the water injection/agitation method, Natural England have indicated that if the silt deposition model does not forecast any excessive silt deposition problems as a result of the dredging, they will not require any additional environmental monitoring of the dredging operations.  However they have indicated that, the model as it currently exists was developed with very detailed data relating to the maintenance dredging of Batson Creek, ie data collected from the Blackstone at the harbour entrance north to Ox Point in the Bag.  They would therefore like more refined data entering into the model to more accurately predict the silt deposition from dredging at the head of the estuary.  There will be an additional cost to collect and enter this data, but overall the cost to the Harbour Authority of the pre and post dredge surveys, sediment sampling for contaminants, particle size analysis and the preparation of a dredging impact assessment can be contained within a budget of £16,000.
 The cost of the actual dredging at this stage is unknown, it being dependent on the quantities of silt that require dredging.  These quantities will remain unknown until a pre-dredge survey is completed and a decision is made, using the survey, to define the limit, extent and depth of dredging that the Harbour Authority need and wish to undertake.  The dredger will be contracted on a fixed price for mobilisation and demobilisation with an additional tidal rate for each tide the dredger operates.  This way the overall cost of the dredging can be contained by limiting the number of tides it is contracted to operate.  Because the dredger will be operating in tidally constrained waters, the length of time it will be able to operate will be limited, but it is estimated that it should be able to remove approximately 350 m3 on each tide.  At this stage an outline budget of £50,000 (updated from the £44,000 in the Newsletter) is proposed for the dredging. 
This all may seem very technical, but I felt it would be beneficial to explain in detail what we have to do and what the cost will be.  Also, we will need your co-operation to conduct the dredging.  The way the dredger works is to pump low pressure water through a ‘T’ piece nozzle into the silt, this puts the silt back into suspension and it flows away on the tide.  To do this the mooring chains will have to be removed for the dredger to operate.  This will mean that boats will have to be removed from the water well before the dredging takes place to allow the moorings team to remove all the chains and mooring blocks, and then they will need a period after the dredging is complete to re-lay all of the moorings.  Exact dates and timing have yet to be confirmed, we will finalise details in consultation with your Club.
Moving on to other issues, the Kingsbridge Residents’ pontoon has been extended by 18 metres to the south this year and we should be able to make a similar extension to the north next winter.  This will require the removal of all of the wall moorings between the pontoon and the ferry landing. 
In the remainder of the Harbour we have now just about completed the installation of the Batson Pontoons, we have re-piled Victoria Quay Pontoons, progressed a public landing at Frogmore, we are currently waiting for planning permission, but all being well this should be in place for the late May Bank Holiday.
Looking to the future, we have started a consultation process with a view to replacing the Town Landing at Salcombe in 2012.  Although this is still a couple of years away, we need to gather ideas of what our customers want, then this Autumn the Board are planning to make a proposal to take to public consultation.  If you have any ideas, please let us know.
Finally I would like to make a plea to everyone who takes to the water to wear a life jacket.  I repeatedly see experienced mariners not doing so, I also see all of the disturbing reports from the Marine Accident Investigation Branch where people have needlessly lost their lives because they have not taken a simple personal precaution.  Let us hope that we have a safe and enjoyable 2010 season.
 Ian Gibson
Harbour Master February 2010