According to the Hillsboro Inlet District, twelve hours of dredging pulled about 5,400 cubic yards of sand out of the Hillsboro Inlet's ocean channel in early May. Those hours came on a couple of days that were calm enough to work the stretch beyond the rock jetties.
For Lighthouse Point, that number explains most of this year's inlet trouble. Every canal in the city depends on one narrow inlet, and that inlet's depth depends on a single District-owned dredge. The dredge goes to work when sand piles up and the sea lies down, which makes inlet access a seasonal matter. The District's own records put the heaviest dredging months in late fall and early winter, a stretch that begins in November.
What the charter fleet told the board in May
At the District's May 18 board meeting, Pompano charter captains described the inlet mouth in blunt terms. TAPinto Pompano reported that Capt. Tom Oberrender of Killin' Time Charters called the shoaling "the worst I've ever seen it" in 35 years. In the same TAPinto account, Capt. Harold Heuff of the Hillsboro Inlet Fishing Center said the inlet was "almost impassable at certain tides." He said he had been running to the Boca Raton Inlet, six miles north, which added about an hour to his customers' trips. Capt. Chris Mills of Ringmaster Charters warned other boaters to yield to bigger boats crossing the shallow channel.
The concern was building before that meeting. DredgeWire reported on May 4 that shoaling on the ocean side of the channel was still a concern even while dredging continued.
Why the outer bar waits for flat water
The District's explanation at that meeting shows how the problem works. District chair Denise Bryan said the crew had already pumped 83,500 cubic yards in the first four months of 2026. That was a fast pace, set against 150,525 cubic yards for all of 2025. Capt. Woodworth "Woody" Draughon III, who runs day-to-day dredging for the District, said most of that work happened in the calm water behind the jetties. The sand that troubled the charter boats sat beyond them. Out there, shifting wind and waves can quickly make it unsafe to run the District's barge-like cutter-suction dredge.
Draughon estimated that the rest of the shoal could be made passable within a week, but only with similarly flat conditions. He also set the near-term goal at roughly ten feet of depth. Fourteen feet is the preferred depth for large boats. The May reporting does not say whether the shoal has since been cleared, so its current state is unconfirmed. The District's own documents are the best place to check.
The sand log, month by month
The District has kept a record of the sand it bypasses every month since 1991. Its dredging volume sheet, updated July 1, 2026, shows a clear seasonal pattern.
| Month | 1991–2026 average, cubic yards | 2025 | 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 14,671 | 27,450 | 12,150 |
| February | 11,629 | 9,225 | 675 |
| March | 14,080 | 6,075 | 21,825 |
| April | 11,714 | 1,125 | 36,225 |
| May | 9,649 | 0 | 11,250 |
| June | 6,592 | 0 | 28,125 |
| July | 3,477 | 9,000 | n/a |
| August | 1,954 | 17,550 | n/a |
| September | 1,911 | 20,700 | n/a |
| October | 6,181 | 32,400 | n/a |
| November | 14,565 | 12,150 | n/a |
| December | 18,143 | 14,850 | n/a |
| Full year | 113,147 | 150,525 | 110,250 through June |
Three things stand out in the table. November, December and January together average about 47,000 cubic yards. That is roughly 42 percent of a typical year's work, done in three months. August and September average under 2,000 cubic yards each. The 2026 total through June, 110,250 cubic yards, was already close to the 35-year average for a full year. By the same averages, the January-through-June figure for a typical year is about 68,000.
The 2025 column breaks the usual pattern. Late summer and fall were busy that year, with 32,400 cubic yards in October alone, the biggest month of 2025. The sheet's notes say why the timing moves around. Because the District owns its dredge, it dredges when the sand trap or channel needs clearing and the weather allows. The schedule follows the sand and the weather.
The same notes show what happens when the dredge itself is out of service. It spent July through September 2019 in drydock for a four-year refurbishment. In 2023 it was in drydock from June through December for a major refurbishment, and the log shows zeros for every month from June to December that year.
Where the sand goes
All of that sand is moved down the coast to the beach. The volume sheet says bypassed sand is placed on Pompano Beach just south of the south jetty. The Florida Department of Environmental Protection's August 2026 regional beach management plan describes the District's work the same way: sand moves from the inlet channel and sediment basin to the beach south of the inlet. The plan keeps a bypassing target of 120,000 cubic yards a year.
That target ties the two problems together. Each load that clears the channel for Lighthouse Point boats also feeds the beach to the south. The same DEP plan puts the next nourishment project for Pompano Beach, Lauderdale-by-the-Sea and Fort Lauderdale in 2027/2028, so until then, the District's bypassing is the steady sand supply for that stretch of shoreline.
A new dredge under construction, and the budget lines behind it
The dredge that cleared the outer bar in May has been working since May 2008. The District started a request for proposals for a cutter-head dredge in 2025. Its November 17, 2025 agenda listed awarding a contract to Ellicott Dredges, LLC, and a December 1 special meeting listed approval of that contract. Board agendas from June through October 2026 have each listed an update from Ellicott. The August 17, September and October agendas call it a "New Dredge Construction Update." The posted agendas do not include a delivery date.
The District's tax rate has risen over the same period. Its millage was 0.1024 in FY2024–25 and 0.1250 in FY2025–26. The adopted FY2026–27 budget sets it at 0.1312, with estimated tax revenue of $4,126,363. That budget includes a $725,000 "Dredge Loan Payment" line, the same figure as the year before, and a $1,583,434 reserve transfer. The District's budget information page still lists 0.1024 as the current rate, so the adopted resolution is the document to check.
How to check the inlet before a run
The District publishes almost everything a resident boater needs to follow conditions. Here is where each piece lives.
- Depth soundings. The District's depth chart page posts its latest soundings, dated September 24, 2026. The District says the chart is not to scale and not for navigation.
- The District's own cautions. The same page calls this a hazardous inlet where local knowledge is required. It says to pass at idle speed and notes that the current at the bridge can run at six knots, so vessels should give way to boats moving with the current. Ebb currents tend to push vessels onto the south reef, and flood currents tend to push them off it. Moving sand reduces depth, and wave troughs have less water than a flat-calm day.
- The dredge log. The monthly volume sheet shows when the crew has been working and how much sand it has moved. The posted version currently runs through June 2026.
- The board meeting. The District meets monthly at Fletcher Hall, 2200 NE 38th Street in Lighthouse Point. Each agenda includes an inlet status report from Capt. Draughon, a dredge log circulated for review, and public comment. The October 19 meeting carried both the inlet report and the Ellicott construction update.
The posted agendas also cover more than dredging. The September 28 agenda included a resolution supporting the Hillsboro Inlet Management Plan, with the District serving as local plan sponsor. It also included a presentation reviewing a beach renourishment permit application from the City of Deerfield Beach and the Town of Hillsboro Beach. A separate Florida Senate funding request for FY2026–27, sponsored by Sen. Jason Pizzo, asked for $750,000 in state money and proposed a $200,000 local match. It would pay for shoreline stabilization meant to reduce erosion, improve navigation and protect the Hillsboro Inlet Lighthouse. The document is a request, not an approved appropriation.
For boaters, the near term comes down to what the District has published. Historically, November through January has been the busiest dredging stretch of the year. The September 24 soundings are the latest posted. The current dredge is in its eighteenth year, and its replacement is still on the agenda as a construction update.
Lighthouse Point has many canals, but they all lead to the same inlet. When you compare waterfront homes, it helps to know how a canal connects to the Intracoastal and how often the inlet beyond it has been workable. Mari Juliette grew up in Pompano Beach and is happy to talk through the waterfront details that matter to the way you use your boat. Contact Us.
