Boat owners at Burry Port Harbour have been told the gate should be back in place in the first week of December, with a dredger now working the tides to clear silt from the Outer Harbour.
Carmarthenshire Council says the stop logs and harbour gate will be reinstalled then, as long as the dredging and the repairs to the gate are finished.
The timetable comes in a council progress update shared by Burry Port county councillor John James.
A dredger craned over the quay wall to work 54 tides
Contractor Channel Marine mobilised from 3 November, and its dredging vessel, the Melwey, had to be lifted into the harbour by crane from the quay wall.
It is carrying out water injection dredging, which pumps water into the silt on the harbour bed to stir it back into suspension so the ebbing tide can carry it out to the estuary.
The council says the work is aimed at the lighter silt in the Outer Harbour and will take around 54 tidal cycles, which it expects to run through November, depending on the weather, the tides and conditions on site.
When the summer’s digging finished in September, the council expected the water injection dredging to start in October, subject to final contracts being completed.
57,000 cubic metres gone and a target depth of -1.5m
The summer’s mechanical dredging removed around 57,000 cubic metres of material from the harbour, the council says.
The design depth for the Outer Harbour is -1.5m OD, 1.5 metres below Ordnance Datum, the same level as the harbour sill.
Pontoon electrics work starts but floats have no programme yet
Work on the pontoon electrics and infrastructure began in early November. The council has put the upgrade of the pontoon lighting, electrics and pedestals at £180,000.
Replacement flotation units for the pontoons are progressing, the council says, but the method and the programme for fitting them are still being finalised.
A 10-year plan to keep Burry Port Harbour clear
Once the dredging and the LiDAR surveys of the harbour bed are complete, the council will draw up a draft 10-year maintenance programme.
The harbour has been fully funded by the council since its operator went into administration in 2023, and its own dredger, the Seaka, sank at its moorings in early 2024.
Mooring holders were given a 25 per cent discount from July to September while the diggers were in, with full charges returning in October.
The council has committed £2 million of capital to the harbour over two years, and is reviewing the harbour masterplan alongside the works.
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