The Canal

It’s important to know that SunWest Harbourtowne will be located next to the newest and largest public park in Pasco County.

Existing channel

The canal shared by Pasco County’s SunWest Park and SunWest Harbourtowne will allow much needed public access to the Gulf of Mexico. If you add up all the present boat access points in the entire County, the new SunWest Park will be double the existing amount.

In short, the County presently has 120 parking spaces for boat trailers. This improved channel will have 7 launch points and 250 parking spaces. That’s for the public.

For years, seagrasses have been “prop dredged” in the area. That means boats are driving over them and chewing up the seagrasses to get in and out of the existing channel. The improved canal will be re-oriented to avoid seagrasses and other aquatic resources.

Our re-aligned channel will avoid the seagrasses and take boating traffic through a rock bottom area. As a result, the channel will be a little bit longer, but a lot more environmentally friendly.

Area for new channel

Right now the channel is designed to be 80 ft marker to marker (on the surface) and 60 ft. at the bottom. This plan is actually narrower than the existing channel, but much larger than the Hudson Channel.

Although our seagrasses impact will be minimal, there will be some. Our plan is to remove the seagrasses and replant them in the already-damaged, prop-scarred existing exit area.

Agencies are presently reviewing the permit application.