He's not holding his breath or making any promises, but Chris Leonard is hopeful that a financial solution to the Westport River's shoaling issues could be just down the road.

Leonard, Westport's Director of Marine Services, told the select board last week that he has been speaking with officials in Sen. William Keating's office about the possibility of getting federal funding to dredge the federal channel, which over the past few years has shoaled up to the point that groundings have become almost commonplace.

"If everything goes well, it could be as soon as this fall," he said of funding. "It's going to be a multi-million dollar operation."

Over the past several seasons, Leonard and his crew have watched as the water depth in certain parts of the channel has declined precipitously. Commercial boats and larger recreational craft have run aground on numerous occasions, forcing Leonard to seek the United States Coast Guard's help in moving channel markers in the worst areas to gain precious inches and feet of depth. As it is a federal channel, Leonard has also been seeking help getting funding to undertake a large dredging operation, the first in Westport in years.

This week, he was careful to add that he is unsure of the status of any federal funds for the project, and needs to reach out again for updates. He hopes funds are earmarked for the project. But if they aren't, "we'll just keep doing what we're doing," he said.

If funds are secured and large-scale dredging work is undertaken, he said, the spoils would likely be taken out to deep water for dumping, not dumped on area beaches as they were last time.