UFC 4-150-06
12 December 2001
8-3.3
Sedimentation Around Piers and Basins. Deepening harbors to
provide for deeper draft ships and the installation of piers can increase the rate of
sedimentation, in those cases where the entire sediment supply isn't already depositing
itself. The ramifications of siltation around piers, for example, can induce localized
changes; silt or microorganisms can be picked up through a ship's saltwater intakes,
thereby causing significant damage to vessels and high repair costs.
Since sedimentation control is a site-specific phenomenon, each location
must be accessed and the best method chosen for the area. Modeling sites can
provide valuable information, but all sites cannot be modeled at full scale due to cost
limitations; additionally, scaling can be problematic. Research and development into
sediment limitation by way of stopping the sediment from reaching the site, keeping the
material in suspension through the site, or diverting the sediment flow from critical areas
has produced ideas for several different systems and methods: the venting canal, the
scour jet array, the vortex foil array, the barrier curtain, and the maintenance trench
(Sedimentation Control to Reduce Maintenance Dredging of Navigational Facilities in
Estuaries, 1987).
8-2
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