Officials in Edgartown have started to dig up sand from the bottom of Edgartown Great Pond as its salinity levels have hit a critical low.

On Feb. 2, the town put its dredger out on the pond, a popular spot for fishing and swimming, as waters hit four feet above sea level.

“We’re three-quarters of the way down the beach and all is going well so far,” dredge committee chair Ed Handy said in a meeting Feb. 9. “Life is good.”

Dredging is an ongoing battle with nature, taking the sediment collected at the bottom of bodies of water and using it to restore eroding dunes and beaches across the Island. Edgartown is the only Island town with its own dredge, often selling its leftover sand and cobblestone to private landowners or other towns.

This time around, the Great Pond’s dirt will stay local, supplementing the area’s barrier beach and potentially reinforcing the dunes in the Herring Creek area, should permitting go through in time.

“As of right now we don’t have permission to lay down pipes and get machinery out on Herring Creek’s property,” Mr. Handy said. “We’ll hopefully get some word…about whether we can get some access over there.”

The Great Pond Foundation reported that past cuts to the pond have not stayed open long enough for a pond-wide flush. That’s meant an increase in nutrient pollution and a decrease in salinity, potentially harmful to pond life.

Town administrator James Hagerty said dredging is a fairly common occurrence, and that everything appeared to be going smoothly.

“No news is good news for me,” he said.