Water Quality Monitoring at the Norfolk Disposal Site.
Abstract
The continual dredging of navigational channels in major seaports is essential to maintain shipping access. However, the disposal of potentially contaminated dredged material raises environmental issues. Current methods for dredged material disposal include: landfill, on shore, and open ocean disposal. Available land for on shore and landfill disposal is often at a premium in the industrialized, urban seaport and may present a variety of social, economic, and ecological problems. Recently, renewed interest has been generated in the feasibility of the open ocean disposal of dredged materials. Currently, dredged materials from the Hampton Road Harbor area are being disposed at the Craney Island containment facility. However, Craney Island has a finite capacity in its current configuration. An open ocean disposal site designated the Norfolk Disposal Site (NDS) is being considered as an alternative for some of the Norfolk Harbor system dredged material. The present ongoing study involves the monitoring of baseline water quality characteristics at the NDS. This study was undertaken to characterize the magnitude of natural spatial-temporal variability of various ecological parameters and to develop a series of multivariate statistical models to be used as an early warning system in historic trend assessment studies. This report presents the results of a three year baseline water qualtiy program at the NDS.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Oct 01, 1984
- Accession Number
- ADA165056
Entities
People
- Arthur J. Butt
- Joseph H. Rule
- Raymond W. Alden
- Suzanne S. Jackman
Organizations
- Old Dominion University