Reclamation to begin dredging upstream of Imperial Dam

The Bureau of Reclamation’s Yuma Area Office announced Tuesday it will begin dredging a 50-acre open water area upstream of Imperial Dam within the next two weeks, following the launch, post assembly testing and fine-tuning of the dredge.

Dredging operations will occur Monday through Thursday, from 6 a.m. to 12:30 a.m., over the next two years, the bureau said. Dredging operations are not planned for Fridays, Saturdays or Sundays.

In dredging the river at this location, a large, floating barge-type dredge, support boats and a waste pipeline will be used to remove accumulated sediment from the river channel and bank line area directly above the dam. The equipment will be launched from a site near Hidden Shores RV Park, on the Arizona side of the Colorado River, approximately 20 miles north of Yuma.

Reclamation said it does not expect to close recreational access to the river near the dredging site, with river use near the work site to be closely regulated. As an additional safety measure, navigational hazards in the river channel and around the dredging equipment will be illuminated at night. Recreational users and watercraft operators are encouraged to exercise extreme caution and to stay clear of all dredging operations. Operational noise is expected to be minimal.

The bureau described the work as “routine maintenance” to ensure continued and efficient delivery of Colorado River water through the All-American and Gila Gravity Main canal headworks. These two canals provide water to approximately 600,000 acres of farmland in southern Arizona and the surrounding Yuma municipal area. Approximately 1.2 million cubic yards of sediment will be removed from the site, the bureau said.