A proposed expansion of the breakwater that protects Belfast’s waterfront from heavy waves could move forward soon, after a firm recently studied how the changes would affect sediments that build up in the Passagassawakeag River.
But any such expansions would cost roughly $12 million, according to estimates gathered a few years ago, and they would require more deliberation by the city, according to Belfast Mayor Eric Sanders. Officials and residents will need to weigh how to finance and plan the project, as well what effects it would have on the harbor.
Sanders said the City Council is likely to discuss the proposed changes at a future meeting.
“As scientifically boring as it is, sediment is a big deal. You want to make sure you’re doing it right and all the directions are correct before you start thinking about doing a project like this,” Sanders said of the recent study. “You want to make sure that all of the impacts up river are minimal or nonexistent. You don’t want to spend $12 million dollars to screw up something up the river.”
The changes that have been considered for the Belfast breakwater include raising it three feet and extending it 60 feet longer than it already goes, to help strengthen its resilience to sea level rise and worsening storm events.
It currently offers protection for the city’s public landing, which offers access to the harbor for boaters. But the breakwater may not protect the landing as well as it once did, when it was first built in 1988, according to Sanders.
It’s “already, although sturdy, antiquated because of the ocean rise and storm patterns. It’s 36 years old, and through heavy storms, it routinely gets breached,” he said.
A Portland-based company called WSP Consulting recently completed a study of how extending the breakwater could affect the flow of sediment in the harbor, based on concerns raised by the City Council last year.
This week, the firm told councilors that the expansion would not “greatly affect” the flow of water in the harbor, but that it could reduce the velocity of the water downstream of the breakwater and deposit more sediment in a small area.
