Connelly Mill Dredge Storage Update: "Off The Books"
Connelly Mill Dredge Storage Update: "Off The Books"
Tuesday, December 16, 2025, at 10:00amWicomico County is facing a dredging crisis. The Army Corps of Engineers is skipping the county for a third dredging cycle due to lack of storage space. On December 16, 2025 Public Works Acting Director Adam Corry presented a "Sediment 360 Roadmap" to remove ~400,000 cubic yards of material from the Sharps Point storage facility by October 2026.
During the presentation a slide outlining their "Pit Portfolio," which explicitly listed Connelly Mill as "Pillar 4" of their strategy. This confirms what the community has been hearing for months: despite public objection, the administration has continued to view the future park as a storage site for river sludge.
The County Council was quick to defend the original vision for Connelly Mill Park. Almost immediately after the plan was presented, Councilmembers from both parties voiced strong opposition to using Connelly Mill, citing the overwhelming feedback from the public over the years.
Tuesday, December 16, 202598% of our responsibility is to listen to our constituencies and pay attention to what they want and what they don't want. Connelly Mill is off the books based on the fact that we have recognized loud and clear that that really is not an option for Wicomico County based on that one circumstance alone. I think we really have to take that into consideration.
Council President John Cannon
Tuesday, December 16, 2025Sure - Ok - Loud and Clear - Understood
Acting Director of Public Works Adam Corry
Tuesday, December 16, 2025In other words, what he's saying, don't put that up there on the board [on the presentation slide]
Councilmember Joe Holloway
Tuesday, December 16, 2025Here on that slide, obviously, Pillar 4 is dead on arrival for mentioning Connelly Mill. Is there another substitute place, or is that Pillar 4 only tied to the dead on arrival Connelly Mill?
Councilmember Josh Hastings
Tuesday, January 6, 2026Connelly Mill Park, I would support moving forward with that before 2030 as a low impact park like it was originally designed and promised. There's been a proposal for dredge spoils to be put in the Connelly Mill Park. I would be against that. We don't know what's in those dredge spoils and just not a good idea. There's got to be another way.
Council Vice President Jeff Merritt
While the Council's support was a significant win, it is important to put this into perspective. The rejection of the site came from the Legislative branch (The Council), not the Executive branch (Public Works/Administration).
During the presentation, Public Works officials noted they are looking at a "large inventory of sand pits" and discussed concepts like "Pits-to-Marsh" beneficial reuse. With an upcoming election and the pressure to move 400,000 cubic yards of material rapidly, unilateral action by the Administration remains a risk if we do not keep the pressure on.