Dewatering with Geotextile Tubes

For our Environmental and Industrial dredging feature we are privileged to have two articles on using geotextile tubes for dewatering dredged material. Russell Pickett the co-author of the article beginning on page 19 chose IDR for his description of a new fabric that maintains enough loft on the bottom of a filled tube to prevent clogging allowing water to drain from the bottom throughout the process. This new technology is another increment in the continued improvement of dredging methods that will improve our environment.

Bill Creten’s two case studies on geotextile tube dewatering adds valuable information to the literature on geotextile tube dewatering in his article. He describes two projects each with unique features requiring specialized knowledge and this article should be useful to our readers who are managing this type of job.

For this issue we did an informal roundup of all the dredging-related conferences scheduled for the next few years.

Contaminated sediment – how to dredge it manage it and treat it – is the main theme of some of the conferences and on the list of topics in most of the others. So new ideas will continue to be presented probably until we run out of contaminated sediment to worry about and that will be a good day.

Though I didn’t get to the Brazil Chapter meeting of the Western Dredging Association last December kind people have provided input in the way of photos and other information allowing me to include a good report of that meeting. Thanks to Sandra and Jack Fowler Anna Csiti Bob Randall and Philip Spadaro for their help. I apologize to the pictured people whose names I couldn’t get and if they would like to email me (editor@dredge mag.com) I’ll re-print the photos with their identifications included.

I’m writing this on May 21 and am still on crutches. On April 18 my young horse decided against being ridden and in one instantaneous twisting leap rid herself of me. She was happy; I was on the ground with a fractured pelvis. Not a life-threatening injury but one requiring the inconvenience of crutches and a temporary handicapped tag for my car – one of the only benefits. Fortunately I haven’t been prevented from sitting at the computer and writing and this is the second issue I’ve completed while in this broken state.

So if I’m still hobbling on June 8 at the Western Dredging Association meeting in St. Louis you will know what happened.

Be sure to read the article on page 28 about maintenance dredging funding. It’s time for the maritime industry to require that Congress use money collected specifically for channel maintenance for that purpose.

I’ll see you in St. Louis!