The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Portland District Regulatory team recently toured the Dredge Oregon to learn about dredging on the Columbia River Federal Navigation Channel (CR FNC).
During the visit, the team also learned about the beneficial re-use of dredged materials on Rice Island, USACE said in its announcement.
The purpose of the Columbia River Federal Navigation Channel Operations and Maintenance program is to provide a continuous, safe, reliable commercial shipping channel by periodically removing unsafe and restricting shoals.
In order to maintain the channel at its authorized depth, material from maintenance dredging is placed in-water outside of the channel or within the dredged material placement network consisting of upland and/or beach nourishment/shoreline placement sites and supporting sumps (in-water holding basins created outside the main channel for temporary material storage before it is pumped to adjacent upland sites).
Management of dredged material is dependent on geographic and temporal variability of shoal development within the CR FNC, and dredged material placement is implemented strategically throughout the system to balance placement and dredging needs along the CR FNC.