DESCRIPTION: The project provides for a channel 6 feet deep to 250 feet inshore of the jetties; 4 feet deep to the head of navigation, 100 feet wide and approximately 1 mile long. Two stone jetties are at the entrance, the east jetty is 448 feet long and the west jetty is 700 feet long.
AUTHORIZATION: The federal navigation project for Browns Creek was authorized in 1890 by House Document 22, 51st Cong, 1st Session. Further revisions proposed in House Document 991, 64th Congress 1st Session, 1916 in which the Creek was not adopted.
COMMERCE: Annual commercial tonnage for Browns Creek is approximately 3,100 tons mostly consisting of waste and scrap material valued at $2 million. The Sayville Ferry Service, Inc., operating out of Sayville, NY, utilizes the Browns Creek to provide ferry service to Fire Island year-round with expanded service during the summertime. Annual usage of the channel is approximately 7,497 trips per 2022 Waterborne Commerce report.
BACKGROUND: The channel was last dredged during December 2023. Approximately 30,000 cubic yards (CY) of dredged material was dredged from the Federal navigation channel and placed in the Suffolk County’s Browns Creek upland disposal site. Prior to that maintenance dredging was performed in December 2004 with removal of 19,975 CY dredged material with upland placement.
STATUS: During FY2025, commonly performed Operations & Maintenance (O&M) work includes completion of the latest maintenance dredging; closeout of the FY2023 dredging contract; and coordination with users and stakeholders. The production of an annual hydrographic condition survey and publication of the Controlling Depth Report on the District’s website below, are also scheduled for FY2025.
https://www.nan.usace.army.mil/Missions/Navigation/Controlling-Depth-Reports/
CONTACT:
Divyesh Patel
Asset / Project Manager
P: (917) 790-8582
Email: divyesh.g.patel@usace.army.mil
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New York District
26 Federal Plaza
New York, NY 10278
District Area: NY #2