'We had some strong objections to the project, given the magnitude of the seagrass impacts,' said Jocelyn Karazsia, a fisheries service ecologist. The Army Corps of Engineers, which would pay 75 percent of the $6 million cost, has not been convinced of its economic significance, which means more analysis needs to be done, Roach said.Īnd the project would destroy 16 to 19 acres of seagrass, according to the National Marine Fisheries Service. In Palm Beach County, the navigation district is still pursuing a long-stalled plan to deepen the Intracoastal Waterway at both sides of the Port of Palm Beach.

Fort Lauderdale is one of the important centers of the world for these, and it is one of the few places on the Eastern Seaboard that can do this work.'

'A lot of people work on them, electricians, engineers, they do painting, they do cleaning. 'They put a lot of people to work,' said David Roach, executive director of the navigation district, a property-tax-supported agency that encompasses 12 counties on the east coast of Florida.

While it's not certain that every project will move forward, supporters say deepening these waterways will help South Florida compete with the Caribbean, the Mediterranean and other sites on the East Coast for the business of servicing these conveyances of the super rich. The Florida Inland Navigation District plans to deepen the Dania Cut-Off Canal, the New River and part of the Intracoastal Waterway in Broward County, and possibly a stretch of the Intracoastal Waterway in West Palm Beach and Riviera Beach. Hoping to attract more of these luxurious vessels, South Florida waterway managers are planning major dredging projects that would allow yachts up to 200 feet long to reach boatyards and marinas in Broward and Palm Beach counties. Yet each mega yacht that pulls into a Fort Lauderdale or West Palm Beach boatyard constitutes a floating economic stimulus package, capable of injecting millions of dollars into local businesses on a single visit for repairs, painting, electronics, food and entertainment. They are extravagant and self-indulgent, with their helipads, onboard gyms, mahogany interiors and glass-walled elevators.

How to drag a dredge in a small canal