Dredging and Beneficial Use - Part 2: Shark River Dredging Project

Introduction

For over 30 years, Clean Ocean Action has worked to review, develop, and advocate for community driven dredged material management solutions. By viewing dredged material as a resource, and emphasizing community input and engagement, COA has reviewed and identified potential beneficial use options for dredged material placement in many different contexts and uses. Above all, throughout this process, COA has advocated for environmental protection, and community involvement and support as key tenets of our position. As we say here at Clean Ocean Action, “we know mud”.

This is part two of our series on the beneficial use of dredged material.

SHARK RIVER - Critical Navigation, Innovative Dewatering, and Beneficial Use

 

The Shark River is a tidal estuary bordered by five towns - Neptune Township, Neptune City, Avon, Belmar and Wall Township. The river is popular for stand up and kayak paddling and bird watching, as well as safe harbor for hundreds of commercial and recreational fishing and pleasure boats. The marinas surrounding the river have also become a focus of redevelopment with bars and restaurants flanking these marina hubs. For over two decades, critical dredging of channels was needed to allow the passage of vessels into and out of the estuary. However, no satisfactory location was available to place the estimated 102,000 cubic yards of dredged material. In fact, the old CDF for Shark River is actually the site of the Seaview at Shark River Island condominium community; a clear example of the lack of open space in the area. Everyone agreed that the river needed to be dredged, but there was no consensus as to where the material could be placed, or even dewatered for transport. An innovative solution was necessary to get this project off the ground.

Enter a dedicated coalition of State, County and local leaders that effectively advocated for the project, including Senator Jen Beck, Committeeman Randy Bishop, County of Monmouth, Board of Chosen Freeholders, New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJ DOT) Office of Maritime Resources, New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJ DEP), and the governing bodies of the participating municipalities including Neptune City, Neptune, Belmar, and Wall. Recognition must also go to the Shark River Cleanup Coalition, who has been advocating for the dredging of the Shark River for many years now. 

NJDOT put a concept and "workable plan" out to bid. Mobile Dredging and Pumping Co., out of Chester, PA. Mobile Dredging was awarded the $7.6 million contract in the summer of 2015, as the responsible low cost bidder for the project, and with coordination from NJDOT and NJDEP, a workable solution was created that used innovative technology to dewater the dredged material slurry on a very small footprint surrounded by homes, businesses, and marinas, before trucking it to the Monmouth County Reclamation Center for use as landfill cover. The project removed approximately 102,000 cubic yards of sediment from the River comprised of sand and silt using hydraulic dredging, and then piped the slurry via a secure welded pipeline to the selected dewatering location.

Caption: far off in the Shark River, the hydraulic dredge removes sediment to improve navigation (photo courtesy of Cindy Zipf).

The dredging had started late last fall and was halted on January 1, 2016, due to state regulations in place to protect spawning and the early life stages of winter flounder and anadromous fish. During this initial phase of the project, “geotubes” were used to dewater the slurry before trucking the material off to be used. Geotubes are large fabric bags that the slurry is pumped into, with pressure forcing the water out of the bag while the sediment remains.

Caption: this image shows the piping system that moves the dredge slurry to the dewatering site, as well as the pipe that takes the water that has been removed out of the sediment and returns it back to the river (photo courtesy of Cindy Zipf).

Caption:  dredge slurry is pumped into the geotube. The fabric is designed to let water escape, leaving behind the sediment for removal and use as cover at a landfill.

When the project was restarted in July, the dewatering process was changed to handle larger amounts of material and get the project done before the dredge window closed.

Caption: a first look at the dewatering site. (video courtesy of Cindy Zipf).

This dewatering process is called “mechanical dewatering” and utilizes transportable and modular centrifuges and belt presses to separate usable sand out of the finer sediment, then mechanically squeeze the water out of the slurry. The process is rather impressive to behold, and when up and running, is able to process a huge amount of material on a very small footprint – perfect for the heavily built up mid-Atlantic coastline.

Let’s walk through the process:

First, a hydraulic dredge removed sediment in a slurry that is piped to the dewatering location. This pipe runs to a large tank that slows down the flow of water and allows larger pieces of debris to settle out.

Caption: Rick, from Clean Ocean Action, talks to the contractor supervisor in front of one of the large tanks where the dredge slurry is first pumped to (photo courtesy of Cindy Zipf).

The slurry is then pumped into several centrifuge and screen type machines, that are able to sort out debris and coarse sand sediments from the muds and silts. These machines are also able to remove large amounts of debris and trash from the sediment as well. The idea is that the larger pieces of debris and sand can actually harm the belt presses which squeeze the water out, so removing them on the front end of this process saves those machines, and also allows for use of sand! This project produced about 500 cubic yards of sand that was trucked and placed on the Township of Neptune’s beaches.

Caption: Bill from NJDOT shows us the centrifuge systems which remove the larger sediments and debris on the front end of this process (photo courtesy of Cindy Zipf).

Caption: The centrifuges are able to remove debris and shell fragments which are removed from river and properly disposed of (photos courtesy of Cindy Zipf).

 Caption: Zach from COA inspects the sand removed off of the front end this process - over 90% sand = perfect for beach placement (photo courtesy of Cindy Zipf).

The slurry then travels to belt presses which wring the water out of the slurry and extrude a dredge material “brownie” (photo courtesy of Cindy Zipf)..

Caption:  the mechanical dewatering process in a series of videos (courtesy of Cindy Zipf).

1. After having larger sediment and debris removed, a polymer is added to the slurry and then spread out onto the fabric conveyor belts

2. The conveyor belts transport the slurry through a series of belt presses, which mechanically squeeze the water out of the material. This process occurs several times. Water from this process is treated and sent back into the Shark River.

3. The dredge material, now dewatered, is extruded out of the belt presses.

Caption: the result of this dewatering process is a sediment "brownie" that has been wrung dry, and easily transportable (photo courtesy of Cindy Zipf).

This material is then scooped up and put in a holding area, where dump trucks then take it to the Monmouth County Reclamation center, where it will be mixed with sand and used as landfill cover (photo courtesy of Cindy Zipf).

The Shark River project is a great example of coupling an innovative dewatering process with beneficial use of the material, in order to meet the constrains of the project. The mechanical dewatering process took up about an acre of area, was self contained and rather unobtrusive to the surrounding area, and allowed sand to be harvested off the front end for beach placement, and sediment off the back end for landfill cover (photo courtesy of Cindy Zipf).

A final note: the footprint of one acre for dewatering was barely enough room to get this job done. A larger footprint for dewatering would have made the project less expensive and faster to complete. Furthermore, Monmouth County Landfill accepting the material for free was a key in making this project feasible. This all goes to show that finding large scale, affordable, beneficial use opportunities is really challenging - and cooperation and coordination between all entities is absolutely essential to the success of these types of projects.

Shark River: The Dredge Debate

Ask anyone who has piloted a boat through Shark River and they will tell you how shallow and dangerous it can be, especially around low tide. For the last two decades, local, state, and federal officials, as well as concerned citizens, have been working on a feasible plan that will make Shark River navigable once again.

Everyone agrees that dredging is necessary. Where opinions differ is how much dredging should take place, where the dredged material will be dried out, and ultimately, where it will be managed. In such a densely populated area, how towns choose to handle dredge material has become the proverbial stick in the mud. However, there is finally some hope.

This past month the NJ Department of Transportation, the NJ Department of Environmental Protection, the US Army Corps of Engineers, and the Towns of Neptune and Belmar have come together with local and state law makers to come up with a dredging plan for the 105,000 cubic yards of material clogging Shark River’s state-managed channels. One of the temporary management areas is on Seaview Island, which was a dredged material disposal area until 30 years ago. Understandably, some residents are concerned while others are supportive of the much-needed dredging project. The good news is that the material tested clean by meeting the residential direct contact standards. The material will be placed at the Monmouth County landfill to be used beneficially.

This has the potential to vastly improve navigability for boaters, while also minimizing impacts to the environment and the surrounding area. Clean Ocean Action has closely followed these developments and will continue to work closely with those involved to facilitate the successful completion of the project.

One Fish, Two Fish, Dead Fish, Blue Fish

On the morning of May 12, thousands of dead menhaden or “bunker” fish washed from the Shark River as the tide went out, and littered nearby beaches.  Throughout the day, fish continued to drift from the inlet and wash-up on the shore, primarily in Avon and Belmar.   Early in the day, fishermen and local businesses reported the event, and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and the Monmouth County Health Department collected water quality and fish tissue samples for examination.   

Though it is challenging to diagnose an issue after it actually occurs, scientific consensus is that the kill was a naturally occurring event.  Some thought that the warming temperatures and heavy rains throughout the week stirred up nutrients in the water, causing small algae to bloom.  When the algae dies, bacteria break it down, and this uses up much of the oxygen in the water, which can stress fish and shellfish.  High levels of algae were not found in the water column hours after the event, so others focused on the large size of the bunker school, and how they were chased into the shallows of the Shark River, where oxygen was likely lower than out in the ocean. The sheer number of skittish bunker moving around in a small area could have used up much of the oxygen through the overnight hours. Both of these situations are plausible explanations for a late spring fish kill, and both focus on the fish not being able to survive low oxygen levels.  

The public is often on the front line for spotting and reporting environmental health issues, whether dead fish, discolored water, algae blooms, or debris and medical waste. If you see anything unusual along a river, bay, beach, or in the ocean, call the NJ DEP hotline at 1-888-WARN-DEP. You should write down the report number, take photos of what you observe, and note the day, time, and water conditions.  

Connecting Volunteers with Community Needs “For The Shore”

CLEAN OCEAN ACTION’S WAVES OF ACTION DAY

Connecting Volunteers with Community Needs “For The Shore”

Long-Term Region-Wide Hurricane Relief Program Begins

Saturday, December 8, 2012

Atlantic Highlands, NJ – In response to the devastation caused by Super-Storm Sandy, it is clear that the need for volunteers is growing,  Clean Ocean Action has launched a long term volunteer initiative to help the communities and millions of citizens left devastated in the wake of Sandy.  Starting December 8^th, and regularly thereafter, COA will connect community needs throughout the NJ/NY region with the volunteers willing to help through a program called “Waves of Action.” Projects and volunteers register for December 8th's first Wave of Action on a newly developed website www.ForTheShore.org. 

“What Sandy destroyed in 48 hours will take months and years to fix.  We established the Waves of Action program to provide a longer-term, sustainable strategy to help heal our coastal communities and protect the quality of our region’s ocean,” stated Cindy Zipf, Clean Ocean Action Executive Director, “we hope to help communities go green to save big blue.”

As we stand tall and pull together to recover and rebuild our own homes and lives, many are also donating time for neighbors and communities.  Added Lisa Cordova, Clean Ocean Action Volunteer and Event Committee Member, “since the storm, a surge of volunteers is one of the top needs for coastal communities.”

“In the aftermath of Sandy, volunteers are ready and eagerly looking to help. Many of the impacted municipalities, businesses, and families are working hard to put their pieces together and may not have the time or energy to recruit and/or direct volunteers,” said Tavia Danch, Clean Ocean Action Education Coordinator. “Clean Ocean Action is organizing the day of service ‘For the Shore’ to streamline the process of connecting people with projects.”

Starting Saturday, December 8, COA organized the first state-wide “waves of action” days where COA’s network of organizations, businesses, citizens and municipalities from Cape May to Montauk - along the Jersey Shore and the South Shore of Long Island - are identifying and implementing projects that are needed within coastal communities.

Clean Ocean Action has already organized many projects throughout Jersey Shore towns for the first Wave of Action on Saturday, December 8 including, Sea Bright, Long Branch, Toms River, Seaside Park, Atlantic City, and Cape May.  Projects are also sprouting up across New York from Jones Beach to Hampton Bays. 

"This is a great opportunity for people to make a real impact in Sea Bright,” said Frank Lawrence, Sea Bright Volunteer Coordinator, “restoring our shore communities will take a concerted effort over many months, and we look forward to working with Clean Ocean Action starting on the 8^th.”

Types of projects include: beach, town, and park clean-ups; food, household items, and furniture drives; fundraisers for wildlife and communities in need; and/or home clean out and repair.  The projects vary based on real, on the ground needs.   Over 500 volunteers have already signed up to participate, but Clean Ocean Action is calling for more volunteers and more projects to generate the most help. 

Saturday, December 8 is the first Wave of Action to help with the initial recovery from the devastation caused by Sandy, but there will is a long journey forward to rebuild.  With this in mind, Clean Ocean Action will continue long-term Waves of Action in the future to help implement a vision of sustainability—restoring better, greener, and bluer coasts.

To register for a project or sign up to volunteer, visit www.fortheshore.org or contact Clean Ocean Action at (732) 872-0111.

Wall Environmental Summit on Thursday, Sept 13

We hope you join us at the 8th Annual Environmental Summit sponsored by Wall Township Environmental Advisory Committee that will be held on Thursday, Sept. 13 at 7:00 pm. It will be at the Wall Township Municipal Building 2700 Allaire Road, Wall, NJ.

This is a chance to meet and ask questions of District 30 state legislators. Senator Robert Singer and Assemblymen Sean Kean and David Rible will discuss and answer questions on environmental legislation, concerns, and issues. COA encourages you to voice your concerns about the environment - whether its to support more funding to repair old storm and wastewater infrastructure to call for enforcement of litter laws to calling for NJ's support for the Clean Ocean Zone.

District 30 includes parts of Monmouth and Ocean counties and the following towns: Avon-by-the-Sea, Belmar, Bradley Beach,Brielle, Farmingdale, Howell, Lake Como, Lakewood, Manasquan, Point Pleasant, Sea Girt, Spring Lake, Spring Lake Heights, Wall.

Here's the link to the flier if you want to share and post. COA hopes to see you there!