Survey at Mean Low Water
We survey your depths at mean low water — the honest number, not the high-tide one — before any math or money.
Dredging: get your depth back
If your boat touches bottom at low tide — or the new boat draws more than the old slip allows — the fix is measured in cubic yards. We dredge behind homes across Broward and Palm Beach County.
How a Dredging Job Works
The math is simple once the survey is honest
First we survey your depths at mean low water — the honest number, not the high-tide one.
The math from there is simple: area to be dredged, times the cut depth needed, divided by 27, equals cubic yards. Cubic yards — plus what happens to them — drive the price. Spoil disposal is the fork in the road. Material dewatered and placed on your own property is the economical route when the site allows it; barging or trucking material away costs meaningfully more. We price both where both are options, so the trade-off is yours to make with real numbers.
What You Get
Measured, permitted, priced both ways
Cubic-Yard Math
Area to be dredged, times the cut depth needed, divided by 27, equals cubic yards. Cubic yards drive the price.
Both Disposal Options
On-site dewatering is economical when the site allows it; barging or trucking away costs more. We price both where both are options.
Maintenance Depths
Generally back to previously permitted or documented historic depths — dredging is usually maintenance of what existed, not new excavation.
Permits Filed & Tracked
FDEP and county review, with the U.S. Army Corps involved depending on the waterway. We file, track, and tell you the realistic window.
Heavy Equipment Division
For larger projects, our dredging division, Palm Beach Dredging, runs the heavy equipment side of the house.
The Permitting Reality
Maintenance is a far simpler path than new deepening
Residential maintenance dredging — restoring previously permitted or historic depths — moves through FDEP and county review, with the U.S. Army Corps involved depending on the waterway. Maintenance work back to documented depths is a far simpler path than new deepening, and the permit phase is usually the longest part of the schedule. We file, track, and tell you the realistic window before you commit. While the slip is open, it's also the right moment to look at your dock, pilings, and boat lift.
When You Need Dredging
The signs are usually visible at low tide
Start with what the boat is telling you. Prop wash that clouds the slip or piles material behind the lift can point to shoaling near the propeller. Grounding at low tide, a prop that cannot clear the bottom, or a new boat that draws more than the old one are all reasons to measure the depth instead of guessing. A boat lift that cannot lower far enough to load the boat may have an equipment issue, but it may also be running out of water below the cradle.
We survey at mean low water because high tide hides the problem. The survey shows where the bottom has risen, how much area needs work, and whether the target is previously permitted or documented historic depth. That distinction matters: restoring a maintenance depth is a different conversation from asking an agency to approve new deepening. If the dock or lift also needs attention, review the boat lift installation requirements before setting a final depth.
How We Dredge
From low-water survey to spoil disposal
Barge access
A barge gives the excavator a stable platform on the water and lets the work reach a residential slip without driving heavy equipment across the property. We plan the access, staging, and protection of the adjacent dock and seawall as part of the scope.
Controlled excavation
The excavator removes the measured material to the permitted maintenance depth. We keep the cut tied to the survey and the approved plan rather than treating the bottom as an open-ended excavation.
Spoil disposal
Material can be dewatered on the property where the site and rules allow, or loaded and hauled to an approved location. Cubic yards and disposal route are priced separately so the estimate shows the real choice.
Permitting
DEP, Army Corps, and county review
Dredging is a waterway project, so the permit path depends on the location and the requested work. The Florida Department of Environmental Protection and county review may apply, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers can be involved depending on the waterway. The agencies need a clear description of the existing depth, proposed maintenance depth, area, material, access, and disposal plan.
The permit phase often controls the schedule more than the excavation itself. We use the survey and available permit history to define the maintenance scope, file the project through the applicable review, and explain what is known before you schedule around a boat delivery or lift installation. While planning the work, it is also worth checking the dock condition and pilings that the barge will work beside.
FAQ
Dredging Questions & Answers
Generally back to previously permitted or documented historic depths — dredging is usually maintenance of what existed, not new excavation. The survey and the permit record establish your number; we confirm both before quoting.
Cubic yards, access (barge vs. land equipment), and disposal — on-site dewatering vs. haul-away. Three variables, all of them measured and shown as line items on the estimate.
The dredge work behind a typical home runs days. The permits run longer — commonly months, not weeks — which is why the right time to start is before the new boat arrives, not after.
Either dewatered on your property where conditions and rules allow, or loaded and hauled to an approved site. The inspection tells us which options your lot supports.
Prop wash can move bottom material and create a shallow pocket even when the rest of the canal looks usable. A low-water survey distinguishes a localized washout from a broader shoaling problem and tells us whether maintenance dredging is the right response.
Yes. If a lift cannot lower far enough because the slip is shallow, depth work may belong in the same plan. We review the lift, water depth, access, and permit path together so the dredging does not leave the boat or lift working around the same constraint.
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