With the beginning of civilization, commodities were transported by inland waterways and oceans. The process is a blended essence of the following three independent elements: excavation, transportation of excavated material and then usage or proper disposal of dredged material. The Lowlands of the Netherlands and Flanders are the best example of regions requiring regular maintenance dredging.įor dredging, dredgers are used to remove the deposited sediments from an inlet creek, waterway or ocean floor. Regular maintenance dredging is of enormous importance in coastal regions with sizeable tidal activity and in water bodies that are susceptible to becoming silted with sediments, sand and mud.

Maintenance Dredging is a broader term that includes clearing deposits and cleaning, widening or deepening a water body using either a suction or scooping device (generally called a dredger). The oldest known dredging activities are: dredging for peat excavation and maintenance dredging.

In general terms, dredging implies digging up the gathered sediments from the seabed and disposing of them at some other site. Ultimately disposal barges or dump scows empty the material at the disposal area. The rotating cutter-bar uses its sharp blades to loosen the sediment on the bottom, and it is sucked in using a submersible pump. The dredge operator lowers it to the side of the body of water or its bottom. It involves excavating either naturally deposited sediments or artificial debris such as rocks, bottom sediments, construction debris, refuse, and plant or animal matter on the bottom of either shallow seawater or freshwater.

Once the hoppers are full, the process is halted for a while, and the ship travels to the water disposal site, where the unwanted sediments are released through the bottom of the ship. Dredging removes the deposits percolated underwater to clear the water pathway for ships to pass, creates adequate space to construct important bridges, dykes and dams and weed out silt, intoxicants and pollutants from the bottom of the water.

What is dredging mean