It’s not every day that you see a 300-foot marina dock float down the river, but when the big storms hit this past weekend, residents along Bethel Island’s Taylor Slough witnessed just that.
And days later, they’re still watching it and wondering what will happen to the double-wide dock structure from the defunct Anchor Marina at 1970 Taylor Road. The docks broke free during heavy winds Sunday and started moving down Taylor Slough in this far eastern Contra Costa community, shearing off parts of private docks along the way.
“It was a high-anxiety day I tell you,” said Fred Koslowski, a Taylor Road resident who called 911 on Sunday morning after seeing the docks, which broke in two, start moving diagonally across the slough.
“They were the size of a double-wide mobile home, going down the river, side by side almost at one time,” he said. “And it looked like it was just going to take out everything, but luckily it only took out the one dock. It did some damage to a few other docks, but it could have just been catastrophic.”
Koslowski also worried that some people living on boats along the way might find themselves in the path of the metal monstrosity and get hit. It came within about six feet of one liveaboard, he said.
“Everybody on our block was freaking out,” he said. “I’m just glad that nobody got hurt.”
As of early Tuesday morning, the Anchor Marina dock structure, which had broken in half after crashing into Jersey Island a day earlier, was still not secure. Half of it – a 40-boat slip – was temporarily wedged there and the other half – an 18-boat slip – was wedged across the river along the Taylor Slough, blocking private docks on Bethel Island.
But help was on the way with both the county sheriff’s marine patrol and U.S. Coast Guard monitoring the situation and county code enforcement officials firming up plans to clean up the mess.
At Tuesday’s Contra Costa Board of Supervisors meeting, Jason Carpo of the county’s Department of Conservation and Development confirmed that a contractor had been hired to secure the derelict docks and remove them from the waterways.
“This situation represents an immediate hazard to health and safety and today we are working to remove it,” he told the board. He added, “it’s hazardous and it’s placing adjacent properties at immediate risk.”
Supervisor Diane Burgis noted that waterway issues like the wayward dock mess are not usually the county code enforcement’s responsibility.
“But we’re seeing that this is an important thing for us to take care of,” she said.
In a later statement, Burgis noted it could have been worse.
“It’s frustrating that a delinquent property owner with a history of mismanagement has caused further damage through unsafe conditions,” Burgis wrote. “At the same time, this could have been worse without the County’s cleanup of the site last year, when fuels, chemicals and other pollutants were removed. Without the County’s work, those pollutants could have made their way into the Delta.”
Sheriff’s office spokesperson Jimmy Lee confirmed in an email that the department is assisting code enforcement with the efforts. “The removal process will begin in the coming days,” he wrote.
Last July, the county declared the marina property a nuisance due to code violations and removed all trailers, recreational vehicles, boats, the unpermitted electrical system, tires, batteries, car parts, construction equipment, junk, garbage and other debris at a cost of $100,858. That bill will be charged to the property owner.
Lori Castillo, Bethel Island Chamber of Commerce president, said she contacted authorities from several government offices days ago before learning that code enforcement would handle the situation. She was happy that the docks were getting some attention.
“I am hoping that the county moves quickly to be sure that that monstrosity moves quickly,” she said. “I want it to be handled appropriately and not just ignored.”
Carpo, meanwhile, could not give a precise timeline for cleanup, but said his staff was “working very hard on that and making substantial progress.” He offered no estimate for how much the cleanup would cost, but said the bill will go to the defunct Anchor Marina’s owner.
The last time a large dock structure was blown off its moorings in Bethel Island was in January of 2021 when the New Life Marina docks — located some five minutes to the north of Anchor Marina — were toppled and crashed upside down on the levee at Taylor Slough. No one was injured but one boater was trapped overnight amid the debris.
Check back for updates.
