Latest news with #LynnhavenRiverNow
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Lynnhaven River Now targeting derelict vessels for removal
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) — Efforts have been ongoing for years to clean up our region's waterways by removing abandoned and derelict vessels. 10 on Your Side has reported extensively on efforts by Mike Provost's Vessel Disposal and Reuse Foundation, and Lynnhaven River Now has joined the effort and is using federal funds to carry out the same type of cleanup. With $2.9 million of federal funding, Lynnhaven River Now has targeted 35 vessels, including the 'Carrie Anne.' They include some of the 11 vessels that are along the shores of Navy property in Willoughby Bay. 'They're vessels that the owner didn't have the means to maintain and found themselves in a situation where they had no other option and walked away,' said Lynnhaven River Now restoration manager Vince Bowhers. 'It is a hazard to navigation because people coming in and out of this boat ramp have to go around it now,' Bowhers said. 'It's not lit at night. It is a danger.' Bowhers points out the airbags will help get the starboard or right side of the vessel out of the water. 'They want to get the starboard side up, so that then, they have the complete hull above water, and then they can start pumping water out of that bathtub full of water. … Once they get the rest of the water out, they will check the hull integrity, and I'm glad it floated quickly because that indicates it is not taking on water. … 'I'm happy to see how well it went, and happy to see that it will be properly disposed of instead of sitting out here for years.' Some of those abandoned vessels are like some we saw at the nearby Willoughby Marina that could be auctioned off. Bowhers wants to use some of the leftover federal funds to stop those sales before they happen. 'So, before somebody buys a vessel for $200, thinking they're going to be able to fix it up. let's get it when it shouldn't be sold,' Bowhers said. 'It shouldn't be transferred to someone who can't handle it and will likely abandon it.' Kelly Pearson came out pleased with the 'Carrie Anne' floating away. 'A junky boat sitting there, 'Oh my God, why would someone do this?' We've had multiple boats here a long time sitting in the water polluting the water,' Pearson said. The 'Carrie Anne' is the third boat to be scrapped so far. There are 32 left to go. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Nonprofit plans to remove 100 abandoned boats from Hampton Roads waterways
Abandoned vessels are a problem in Hampton Roads waterways, and this week a local environmental nonprofit is stepping in to help. At least 100 abandoned or derelict boats are in the water in southeast Virginia, according to Lynnhaven River Now Executive Director Karen Forget. The group began removing several vessels in Willoughby Bay on Monday, and the goal is to tackle 100 vessels over the next year. Forget said fiberglass boats became a big trend in the 1970s and 1980s, replacing many wooden boats on local waters. Now, many of those fiberglass boats have gone years without maintenance and are at the end of their lifespan, and owners end up abandoning them. 'There is really no good system in place for people who have a boat that no longer has any commercial value and really isn't seaworthy or usable any longer,' Forget said. 'I think a lot of boat owners just really don't know what to do. Some of them just abandon them. They anchor them someplace, and they leave the boat. Then it eventually drifts and it ends up on a shoreline.' Though other groups have removed derelict boats from local waterways before, this initiative has received significant federal funding to help cover the cost. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Marine Debris Program has provided $2.9 million toward the project, and Lynnhaven River Now has also partnered with the Virginia Coastal Zone Management Program, the Elizabeth River Project and others to coordinate the actual removals. These boats can cause myriad environmental issues. Sometimes, boats end up in wetlands and scrape across an oyster bed or other kind of critical habitat. Some of the vessels also still contain cleaning chemicals and gasoline, which can leak into the water. Once they start to drift, or are pushed by a storm, they can become hard to track down, creating issues for navigation in the water. 'They're literally moving targets,' Forget said. The first two boats that will be removed are near Willoughby Spit, Forget said, and both are creating issues for Navy helicopter operations. One is a sailboat that has sunk next to a seawall, with its mast sticking up out of the water. The other is a vessel that is partially jammed into a culvert that drains storm water off of Naval Station Norfolk. In total, Lynnhaven River Now is aware of at least 20 abandoned or derelict vessels in Willoughby Bay. More than 300,000 pounds of hazardous debris have been removed from Hampton Roads waterways thanks to this nonprofit Abandoned boats are a growing concern, state officials say. A Virginia Beach man is taking on the issue in local waters. New Portsmouth boat tax would lower rate for smaller businesses' boats Virginia Beach to vote on revised budget that scraps boat tax for annual fee Tuesday The nonprofit has also marked other vessels for removal. After the removals in Willoughby Bay, there are six slated for the eastern branch of the Elizabeth River in Virginia Beach, two in Norfolk's Broad Creek and a 63-foot double-masted sailboat on the North Landing River. The sailboat — right by the Pungo Ferry Boat Ramp in Virginia Beach — is causing problems in the area's habitat and navigation. Some cities have tried to crack down on the problem. Last year, Portsmouth City Council updated its code to strengthen laws against abandoned vessels. Now, citizens can be charged with a class 1 misdemeanor if a vessel is abandoned. For each boat, Forget said, the team must do its due diligence before removing it from the water. Each owner must be tracked down, and with many boat sales going through unofficial channels or without a title exchanged, Forget said it can be a 'massive undertaking' to find a boat's owner. Then, the removal plan is reviewed by NOAA for adherence to the National Environmental Protection Act. After the NEPA review, it must then be approved by the Virginia State Historic Preservation Office. All of these steps take more than a year to complete, she said. The team submitted the first group of boats in one batch. Forget said the nonprofit is also gathering survey data on how to prevent boats being abandoned in the first place. In some cases, she said an elderly person can't do the maintenance, or young people inherit a boat they never wanted. Others have intentionally sunk their boats after it cost too much to fix or manage upkeep. Using the survey data, the project will inform the development of Virginia's first abandoned and derelict vessel prevention and removal program. 'When you hear all these stories, you can start to try to put together why this problem exists, why it's gotten so bad,' Forget said. 'We don't want to come back in three years and take another 100 boats out of the water. Our intention is to clean up as much as we can, of the ones that we can identify right now, and then help to develop some programs to prevent this problem from continuing.' An abandoned boat reading 'Virginia Beach, VA' sits at the Willoughby Marina in Norfolk on Tuesday, May 20, 2025. (Kendall Warner / The Virginian-Pilot) An abandoned boat sits at the Willoughby Marina in Norfolk on Tuesday, May 20, 2025. (Kendall Warner / The Virginian-Pilot) Marine life swims around the mast of a sunken sailboat at the Willoughby Boat Ramp in Norfolk on Tuesday, May 20, 2025. (Kendall Warner / The Virginian-Pilot) The mast of a sunken sailboat pokes out of the water at the Willoughby Boat Ramp in Norfolk on Tuesday, May 20, 2025.(Kendall Warner / The Virginian-Pilot) The mast of a sunken sailboat pokes out of the water at the Willoughby Boat Ramp in Norfolk on Tuesday, May 20, 2025. (Kendall Warner / The Virginian-Pilot) An abandoned boat sits at the Willoughby Marina in Norfolk on Tuesday, May 20, 2025. (Kendall Warner / The Virginian-Pilot) Show Caption1 of 7A notice from the City of Norfolk sticks on the mast of a sunken sailboat at the Willoughby Boat Ramp in Norfolk on Tuesday, May 20, 2025 (Kendall Warner / The Virginian-Pilot)Expand Eliza Noe,
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Group aims to pull up to 100 abandoned boats from area waters, starting Monday
PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) — A local nonprofit is planning to pull up to 100 derelict vessels from the water around Hampton Roads over the next year. Lynnhaven River Now, which has been working to clean up area waterways for over two decades, will use funds provided by the NOAA Marine Debris Program to carry out the work. They've partnered with several local municipalities, the US NAVY, the Virginia Marine Resource Commission and Clean Virginia Waterways. 'LRNow is leading this major regional effort to identify these abandoned boats, a growing problem in our local waterways, as [abandoned vessels] pollute the water, damage valuable shoreline habitats, and create navigational hazards,' the organization said in a press release. LRNow will kick off the effort next week with a pair of removals from Willoughby Bay, the body of water separating Naval Station Norfolk and the HRBT/I-64. They say the boats are interfering with the helicopter landing strip on the base. The area will also see additional removals in the weeks to come. Next, the group will move on to other waterways including Broad Creek in Norfolk, the Eastern Branch of the Elizabeth River and the North Landing River in Virginia Beach and multiple areas around the Middle Peninsula. Abandoned vessels pose an immediate threat to boaters' safety, especially if they've sunk below the water line and aren't visible. They also negatively impact the environment when they break apart and leak toxic chemicals into the water. For more information on the project, contact LRNow on their website or by calling 757-962-5398. Continue to check for updates. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
