CHARLESTON, S.C. - A federal spending bill includes $11 million for dredging and maintenance of Charleston channels that serve port facilities.

Port users say the money will keep the ports open for bigger business at a time when money for those projects is hard to come by.

Last year marked the completion of a five-year, $148 million project to dredge Charleston Harbor's channel to 45 feet. But the channel would gradually fill with silt without regular maintenance.

"A lot of the ships coming in here have drafts of over 40 feet," said Byron Miller, spokesman for the State Ports Authority. "This will keep the channel open for trade."

"Maintenance dredging is always critical," said Whit Smith, president of the Charleston Branch Pilots Association. "We've got ships coming in here now with 2 feet under-keel clearance and 2 feet clearance under the bridges. And there are probably a dozen places that shoal in a year."

In Washington, the U.S. Senate has approved money for that effort in a spending plan. The House and White House both earmarked that amount in their budgets, making it unlikely that the project will be cut as the final spending negotiations are held.

Republican Sens. Lindsey Graham and Jim DeMint say the Army Corps of Engineers has tentative approval for Lowcountry dredging projects worth $16 million.

The other projects include $4 million for the Georgetown Harbor, with $3.5 million for the Sampit River and Upper Winyah Bay; $1 million for the Folly River, mostly at the south end of Folly Island and $459,000 for Town Creek near McClellanville, to help the fishing village's shrimp boat fleet get out to sea more easily.

But the state isn't getting everything it wanted. For instance, the Corps may get only $3 million to dredge South Carolina's 200 miles of Intracoastal Waterway. That's less than half of what is needed.