It may not be the kind of thing that captures people’s attention, or front-page banner headlines, but Del. Keith Hodges has quietly been going about the work of a legislator, crafting bills to deal with a somewhat unglamorous, yet vitally important subject—dredging.

Anyone who lives in Gloucester and Mathews counties knows the importance of its rivers and creeks. These waterways are essential to the area’s watermen, as well as to the region’s burgeoning tourism industry. It provides employment and enjoyment to residents and visitors alike. It is a defining characteristic of the Middle Peninsula.

In the past, the Army Corps of Engineers would routinely dredge channels to keep the rivers accessible for the boaters who ply these waters. But the money that paid for this work has dried up, and the Coast Guard, in some cases, has been forced to discontinue maintenance of its channel markers and other aids to navigation in areas where there isn’t enough bottom ...