Camden County Promises Cooper River Dredging To Be Finished On Time

By David Madden

CAMDEN, NJ (CBS) -- Dredging work continues along the Cooper River, with Camden County officials insisting the project will be complete in time for spring rowing events.

The dredging operation began last August, and ran into some problems that doubled the cost and dragged things out a bit. But Camden County Freeholder Jeffrey Nash says crew teams need not worry.

"We were delayed one year so what was supposed to happen last year actually occurred this year," Nash told KYW Newsradio. "But the work itself is not delayed. Since we started, we expected the river would be available for crew, rowing and practicing beginning this spring and we still expect it to be in April."

Fall competitions were put off for the project and those teams hope to get back to practicing sooner rather than later. It appears they'll be able to do that, although their course on the river might be restricted during March while dredge pipes are removed from the river.

Nash says there are two reasons to make sure the work is done on time. One is state law. "We need to make sure that the work is done by April First to allow the typical spawning that occurs in the river so that the fish can reproduce," Nash said, "and that's something that the state and local environmentalists want us to do and that's what we intend to do."

The other is financial. Regattas and such help to pump $10 million a year into the local economy.