EXCLUSIVE: USACE deploys 3-D printed oyster habitat from dredged material

Finding innovative and unique ways to repurpose or use readily available materials is a good way to ensure sustainability and save money. The USACE Mobile District, in partnership with the Mobile Bay National Estuary Program (MBNEP) and USACE’s Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC), uses the dredged material from the Mobile Bay to assist the environment.

ERDC used dredged material or sediment from the bay to make an oyster reef using a 3-D printer. The Mobile District and MBNEP assisted in deploying it at an oyster farm on the Mon Louis Beach in Dauphin Island, Alabama.

The reef will serve as habitat for oysters in Dauphin Island. It will be another beneficial use of sediment dredged from Mobile Bay, USACE said.

Valerie Morrow, Mobile District Dredge Material Program Manager, said: “The 3-D Oyster Reef project holds significant value for the Mobile District and MBNEP due to its innovative approach to addressing the challenge of reusing fine-grained material.”

“As a ‘proof-of-concept’ initiative, this project lays the groundwork for future beneficial use of fine-grained dredge material. This project would also establish a consistent use of dredge material from the Mobile Uplands placement area.”

The reef was 3D-printed from dredged material from the Mobile Harbor federal navigation channel and deployed to the farm recently. Also, the reef is being monitored for structural integrity and for oyster and other aquatic life colonization, USACE concluded.