Buttermilk Bay is located in the upper reaches of Buzzards Bay, between Bourne and Wareham, at the southern end of the Cape Cod Canal. Access to Buttermilk Bay is through a two-mile natural channel extending from Buzzards Bay past Butler Cove. This channel is used chiefly for recreational boating.
The Corps’ project consists of a 2,800-foot-long channel that was dredged in the natural channel. The Corps’ channel, seven feet deep and 100 feet wide, begins in the vicinity of Sears Point in Wareham and ends in an area between Taylor Point in Bourne and Peters Neck in Wareham. Completed in 1953, it was constructed through a sandbar that obstructed the natural channel.
In February 1984, work was completed in extending the channel 2,500 feet to the site of a public marina to be built jointly by Bourne and the state. The channel extension has a depth of six feet and a width of 80 feet. This most recent work was completed under Section 107 of the Continuing Authorities Program.