Especially when sediment can stay in the system transport costs will be reduced, therefore it can prove to be a low-cost resource. Instead of focusing on how to deal with the dredged material as a local end-of-pipe waste problem we can search for solutions whereby sediment is an opportunity. Coarse material is already widely used as a resource for construction, but also soft material can be re-used in a cost-effective manner.
This material can be a valuable resource. Europe-wide, the volume of dredged material is very roughly estimated at 200 million cubic meters per year. Dredging of waterways and harbors creates large volumes of dredged material. Dredging is also necessary for navigation, remediation and flood protection. For millennia, mankind has utilized sediments in river systems as fertile farmland and as a source of construction material ( SedNet, 2004).ĭredging is essential for maintenance and development of waterways and harbors. Sediment is also a resource for human needs. Sediment forms a variety of habitats and therefore many aquatic species live in the sediment.
In estuaries, sediment transport occurs both downstream and upstream, mixing fluvial and marine sediment as a result of tidal currents. Sediment is derived from the weathering and erosion of minerals, organic material and soils in upstream areas and from the erosion of river banks and other in-stream sources. Sedimentation is an essential, integral and dynamic substance of our river basins.
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