Supporting Bank and Near-bank Stabilization and Habitat Using Dredged Sediment: Documenting Best Practices

Abstract

In-water beneficial use of dredged sediment provides the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) the opportunity to increase beneficial use while controlling costs. Beneficial use projects in riverine environments include bank and near-bank placement, where sediments can protect against bank erosion and support habitat diversity. While bank and near-bank placement of navigation dredged sediment to support river-bank stabilization and habitat is currently practiced, documented examples are sparse. Documenting successful projects can support advancing the practice across USACE. In addition, documentation identifies data gaps required to develop engineering and ecosystem restoration guidance using navigation-dredged sediment. This report documents five USACE and international case studies that successfully applied these practices: Ephemeral Island Creation on the Upper Mississippi River; Gravel Island Creation on the Danube River; Gravel Bar Creation on the Tombigbee River; Wetland Habitat Restoration on the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta; and Island and Wetland Creation on the Lower Columbia River Estuary. Increased bank and near-bank placement can have multiple benefits, including reduced dredge volumes that would otherwise increase as banks erode, improved sustainable dredged sediment management strategies, expanded ecosystem restoration opportunities, and improved flood risk management. Data collected from site monitoring can be applied to support development of USACE engineering and ecosystem restoration guidance.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Aug 04, 2022
Accession Number
AD1176105

Entities

People

  • Andrew D McQueen
  • Burton C Suedel
  • Joseph Z. Gailani
  • Robert Toegel
  • Timothy J. Lauth
  • Ursula Scheiblechner

Organizations

  • Engineer Research and Development Center
  • St. Louis District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Engineered Resilient Systems
  • Space

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Birds
  • Climate Change
  • Ecology
  • Environment
  • Eutrophication
  • Fish
  • Fisheries
  • Flood Control
  • Habitats
  • Planting
  • Plants
  • Wildlife

Fields of Study

  • Environmental science

Readers

  • Coastal and Marine Engineering/Sediment Transport/Hydraulic Engineering
  • Riverine Ecology
  • Wetland-Land-Environmental Management.