by Alan Ritchie
The recent dredging of Wiggins Pass is holding up well as we begin the main 2018-19 boating season. Boat traffic in the Pass is picking up but the numbers are lower because the waterway that goes south from Wiggins Pass has at least three areas that are not navigable at Mean Low Water. That precludes Gulf access for many vessels at residences south of the Pass at most times because of concerns about returning. Great care needs to be taken to operate your vessel safely in and around these shallow areas of the Vanderbilt waterway.
That’s the bad news…but there is good news coming!
At their October meeting, the Collier Board of County Commissioners approved a resolution that provided $50,000 for the purpose of completing an engineering analysis of this waterway that will lead to an application by the County for an emergency dredge permit. This dredge would need to be approved by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. The initial project would improve the navigability of this waterway in the short term and give the residents of Vanderbilt Lagoon more reliable recreational boating access to Wiggins Pass and the Gulf of Mexico. It is estimated that there are well over 1200 docks south of Water Turkey Bay and that those boaters make up about 40% of the Wiggins Pass boat traffic. Having safe and reliable access to the Gulf protects the property values of the waterfront homes and condos south of Water Turkey Bay. A deeper waterway also results in better tidal flows which will improve water quality and storm water management throughout this large system of residential canals.
To protect this access to the Gulf, shoaling in the channel needs to be managed on a regular basis and the cost shared by the property owners that directly benefit from both a recreational and property value standpoint. This waterway was last dredged in the mid-1990’s but has been subject to shoaling over time, particularly in the marked channel that crosses Water Turkey Bay.
The long-term funding needed to maintain this waterway will come from the establishment of a Municipal Special Taxing Unit or “MSTU” that would apply to homes and condos that have direct water access along the residential canals south of the Water Turkey Bay. The preliminary analysis would be a very modest cost with direct and immediate benefits to the affected property owners. To stay up-to-date on this project, you should go online to: