After weeks of preparation and weather delays, a contractor hired by the Army Corps of Engineers began dredging a portion of the West Fork of the San Jacinto River on Sept. 20.

The Corps hired the contractor after the Federal Emergency Management Agency tasked the agency with removing 1.8 million cubic yards of debris deposited during Hurricane Harvey from a 2-mile stretch of the river near West Lake Houston Parkway.

“We faced some recent delays due to weather and dredge assembly but the dredge is on station and is now removing debris to help reduce flood risks,” said Alton Meyer, an engineer and project administrative contracting officer with the Corps, in a news release.

The Corps awarded the $69.81 million contract for the project to Great Lakes Dredge and Dock in July. The contractor is scheduled to complete the work by May, according to the release.

The dredge the contractor is using to complete this project weighs 27 tons and will operate continuously until the project is complete. According to the release, recreational boaters in the river must keep their distance from the dredge and the pipelines used to remove debris.

Because this is an emergency project authorized by FEMA—unlike the the Corps' usual projects, which are funded by Congress—the dredging will only return the river to pre-Harvey conditions. This means cleaning up remaining debris—such as large trees—and dredging large sandbars created by flooding in August 2017.

After the dredging project is complete, the Corps is not responsible for consistent dredging to maintain the river. However, Harris County, along with other local jurisdictions, has submitted an application for federal funding to complete a study of the river and its watershed to identify flood mitigation strategies.

Additionally, the Harris County Flood Control District's $2.5 billion bond package, which was approved by voters Aug. 25, has funding allocated to dredge the river. Harris County began moving forward with projects from the package shortly after the measure passed.

At its Aug. 28 meeting, Harris County Commissioners Court approved a measure to make drainage improvements regarding how water drains from the Huffman area and into the San Jacinto River and Luce and Cedar bayous.