Press Releases
- 07-24-2008Craney Island Mosquito Spraying July 27
- 07-22-2008Corps, NOAA Deploy 'Smart Buoy' in Chesapeake Bay
- 07-16-2008Lake Drummond Reservation reopens; Dismal Swamp Canal to reduce lock openings to 2 per day
- 06-13-2008Lake Drummond, Reservation temporarily closes due to wildfire threat
- 06-02-2008FNOD Advisory Board Meeting
Last updated: July 21, 2008
News
Dismal Swamp Canal reopens
February 29, 2008
By Patrick Bloodgood
Norfolk District Public Affairs
CHESAPEAKE, Va. – After ample rainfall and a sufficient rising of water levels in Lake Drummond and the Dismal Swamp Canal, the locks at Deep Creek, Va. and South Mills, N.C., and the drawbridges on U.S. Route 17 reopened to vessel traffic effective 8:30 a.m., Feb. 22. Norfolk District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in coordination with the U.S. Coast Guard and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service suspended lock operations at the Dismal Swamp Canal Oct. 30, 2007, due to low water levels.
The locks and bridges operate at 8:30 a.m., 11 a.m., 1:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m., seven days per week. Vessels are permitted to moor overnight in the canal.
Only one operator is scheduled at Deep Creek and one at South Mills, so the bridge will not be manned when the lock is operated, and vice versa. Lock and bridge operators monitor Marine Radio Channel 13.
Mariners are also advised that the scheduled opening is subject to delays caused by inclement weather or unforeseen difficulties. For more information, contact the Deep Creek Lock and Bridge operator at (757) 487-0831; South Mills Lock and Bridge operator at (252) 771-5906.