Mandeville’s largest bayou is filling up with mud.

With thousands of boaters and sailors passing through Bayou Castine every year, Mayor Eddie Price is concerned the build up of underwater silt will lead to a decrease in sea goers.

“I know it needs to be done because it’s only 5 feet deep in some areas,” Price said. “It’s supposed to be at least 10 feet.”

A major outlet to Lake Pontchartrain for many boaters, Bayou Castine is full of silt and needs dredging soon. (Staff Photo by Chad Ruiz)

It’s been several years since the bayou was last dredged, Price said, and now in the aftermath of several major hurricanes and their high tidal surges, the bayou’s depth is dwindling once again.

“It’s a natural occurrence in any big storm for sediment to deposit,” said Carlton Dufrechou, executive director of the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation. “If they are going to dredge, they have to use that material strategically to replenish the marshes.”

Price said the last few times dredging took place, they received permission to deposit the sediment along the coast near Fontainebleau State Park.

Hundreds of sailors whose sailboats are anchored upstream use the bayou for entrance into the lake during one of the many regattas held every year. That number is bound to diminish, Price fears, if sailboats continue scraping their keels along the bottom of the waterway.

With the only public boat launch in Mandeville located on the bayou, Price said boaters launching their boats are also feeling the effects of the high amounts of silt.

“People are not going to keep coming if they keep getting stuck in the mud,” Price said.

The process to have the bayou dredged is already under way, Price said, but it’s a long and tedious one that may take several months because of the many permits the city has to acquire from different agencies, including the Army Corps of Engineers.

“I want to make sure we have all the wetland permits in hand before we do anything,” Price said.

Once the proper permits have been received, Price said the project will be put out for bid.

“The last two times we dredged it cost under $100,000,” but Price is expecting it to cost more this time because along with Bayou Castine, the breakwater near the beach area of the Lakefront and the Little Bayou Castine also need dredging.