Took a trip to the Port of Baltimore last month and noticed something about the silt there

I was out on a job near the Port of Baltimore last month, helping with some maintenance dredging on a smaller channel. What caught my attention was how different the silt felt compared to what I usually deal with up in the Delaware River. It was much finer, almost like powder, and it seemed to settle back down faster after we stirred it up. My lead operator, a guy named Frank who's been at this for 30 years, said it's because of the mix of fresh and salt water in that area. He told me it changes how the sediment behaves and can actually clog up your cutterhead if you're not careful. I ended up adjusting my swing speed a bit and it made a real difference in keeping the material flowing. Has anyone else noticed big differences in sediment type depending on where you're dredging?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_william24d ago

Did you read that report from the Army Corps about how the sediment there has way more clay than most harbors?

riley4324d ago

Heard the Army Corps guy talking about that @the_william, pretty wild stuff.

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claire_gibson24d ago

Wait, @riley43 said that was the Army Corps guy's point about the clay?