In 2018, the Virginia General Assembly established the Virginia Waterway Maintenance Fund. It provides the opportunity for localities to receive funds for planning, design, and construction of dredge projects.
There are 123 working waterfronts in the Northern Neck of Virginia that facilitate commercial fishing, aquaculture, recreational boating, and boat building and repair.
The Northern Neck Planning District Commission (NNPDC) contracted with the Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) and the Shore Consulting Group (SCG) to develop a Regional Shallow Draft Channel Dredging Plan. The plan began by identifying 142 waterbodies with potential dredge needs in Lancaster, Northumberland, Richmond, and Westmoreland Counties, and the Town of Colonial Beach.
The Initial Phase (Phase One) of the Regional Shallow Draft Channel Dredging Plan was a list of 19 waterbodies that emerged from the prioritization analysis.
The Feasibility Phase (Phase Two) included data collection and analysis to provide information to the localities regarding the waterbodies that may need to be dredged to maintain residential and economic usage. This document can be used to prioritize dredge-channel funding as it becomes available for design and construction. This is a scoping level analysis and should be used for planning purposes only. Additional data is needed for final dredge project design.