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Dredging

Dredging or sediment excavation can be a very effective pond and lake restoration strategy. Used at appropriate sites and when designed and performed correctly, dredging can provide many years of benefit. In the short term, dredging is among the most costly restoration techniques, and it carries significant disturbance to the aquatic ecosystem. The project objectives and intended pond/lake usage’s post dredging need to be closely articulated up-front. The dredging design and water depth contours for a wildlife pond, for example, will differ markedly from that of a swimming beach or a pond intended to support a population of trout. If dredging is being done primarily to control nuisance aquatic vegetation, it is important that sufficient deepening occur to preclude the light required by rooted plants or that excavation will expose an inorganic substrate that will discourage plant recolonization.

When a pond or lake can be easily drained, dredging with conventional or specialized excavating equipment is often the preferred approach. The ability of a pond/lake bottom to support “track” machinery will determine what specific equipment will be required, along with the availability and access of temporary shoreline truck loading sites. Hydraulic (suction) dredging may be more appropriate at a pond or lake that cannot be easily drained or where shoreline access is limited. Locating a suitable, nearby site to construct a containment basin is usually the limiting factor for this approach.

Aquatic Control is capable of handling conventional dredging projects including project design, permitting, implementation and monitoring. To the left is a 70-foot reach excavator which we have used on a number of projects. We also operate a Smalley 808 low pressure ground excavator to remove vegetation and sediments from shallow ponds and lakes. The Smalley's incredibly low ground pressure of 1.7 psi and 19-foot reach make it ideal for ditching, cleaning detention ponds, stream channel maintenance, dam repair and monitor well installation, in areas inaccessible to conventional Excavators such as in and around wetlands.

Advantages

• Removal of nutrient-rich bottom sediments and other organic debris
• Increased depth access
• Control of aquatic vegetation
• Water quality improvements
• Reverse cultural eutrophication
• Habitat enhancement
• Long-term waterbody restoration

Representative Projects

• Waban Kettle Pond (Newton, MA)
• Anderson Pond (New Canaan, CT)
• Five Fields Pond (Lexington, MA)
• Mt. Auburn Cemetery (Watertown, MA)
• Johnstone Pond (Carlisle, MA)