The mouth of the Myall River at Tea Gardens urgently needs to be dredged to prevent a deterioration in water quality throughout the estuary, locals believe.
The 'short cut' channel was last dredged in 2015 following an eight year community campaign.
The $3.5 million project resulted in an immediate improvement in the river's water quality and the surrounding environment.
The flow-on effects for tourism-orientated businesses and boat owners were significant.
In addition, oyster growers benefited from an increase in salinity due to the increased flushing at the river mouth.
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However, the eastern channel of the river mouth is once again starting to silt up with sand from Port Stephens.
A local ferry operator recently advised sections of the channel near Corrie Island were noticeably shallower than 12 months ago.
In a related development, a dolphin required rescuing in June when it became stranded on a sand bank in the channel at low tide.
"There's no question it is getting worse. I'd say within six months we will again start to see problems with the river," Myall River Action Group spokesman Gordon Grainger said.
The group will meet with Port Stephens MP Kate Washington and Mid Coast Council representatives next week to discuss how funding and approvals from multiple government agencies can be gained as quickly as possible.
"Last time around it took more than two years to get the necessary approvals. We are hoping things can move faster this time." Mr Grainger said.
The group is also hopeful of reaching agreement on a long-term strategy for dredging the channel, similar to the system for dredging Swansea channel on an ongoing basis.
Adding to the case for the dredging project is need to build up the sand stockpile used by the recently installed Jimmys Beach sand transfer system.
The $4.1 million project, which began operating in April, pumps sand via a two kilometre pipeline to 10 outlets on Jimmys Beach and Winda Woppa.
Ms Washington, who is also the shadow environment minister, said there was an obvious need for the dredging project to proceed.
"I have sought a briefing from Mid-Coast Council about how much funding is needed for the project. We also need to make sure the approval process is as quick as possible," she said.
A Mid Coast Council spokeswoman said the council had applied for $845,000 under the Rescuing our Waterways program.
The amount represents 50 per cent of the cost of dredging 120,000 cubic metres of sand from the eastern channel of the Myall River.
