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The boat ramp at Port Moody's Rocky Point Park is going to be closed. Here's why, and for how long

The dredging of the navigational channel and areas around the docks was last done in 2016
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The boat ramp at Port Moody's Rocky Point Park will be closed temporarily beginning Feb. 6 to allow for dredging of the navigational channel into Burrard Inlet.

Tri-Cities boaters are going to have to find another location to launch their craft beginning Feb. 6.

That’s when the boat ramp, docks and boat trailer parking area at Rocky Point Park in Port Moody will be closed to allow for dredging of the navigational channel.

The popular pier is also expected to be closed intermittently with the work scheduled to be completed by Feb. 17.

The dredging of sediment that naturally settles into the navigational channel and around the boat ramp is normally done every five to six years to ensure there's an adequate depth for vessels that use the facility to get out to Burrard Inlet as well as prevent damage to the dock and pier.

It was last done in 2016.

Last June, Port Moody city council approved an additional expenditure of $500,000 atop the budgeted $250,000 to pay for the dredging.

A staff report said the extra cost is to properly handle pollutants like dioxin and furan that were discovered during testing of the sediment that is to be dredged, likely from nearby industry.

It will be loaded by a clamshell bucket onto a barge which will then transport it to a regulated disposal site.

A news release said environmental monitors will be in place to watch over the process.

The Rocky Point Park boat ramp is the only public facility to access Burrard Inlet in the Tri-Cities.

The next closest public boat launch is at Cates Park in North Vancouver.