Abstract
Each year nearly 30 million cubic yards of sediment are dredged from the Texas waterways and ports. A majority of the dredged material is disposed in confined disposal facilities, and these disposal sites are being filled. As these sites reach capacity, land must be found and purchased to build new disposal sites. Constructing new confined disposal sites is becoming increasingly difficult. Therefore, alternatives to confined disposal facilities are being considered. One of the proposed alternatives is to convert dredged material to manufactured soil (artificial topsoil). A limited number of studies have been conducted by the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Waterways Experiment Station in conjunction with local USACE Districts to demonstrate the applicability of manufactured soil. Manufactured soil is created using dredged material and recyclable organic waste materials such as bio-solids (sewage sludge), animal manure, yard waste, and bio-mass (cellulose or saw dust). Manufactured soil helps reduce and recycle wastewater sludge and provides an alternative for the long-term management of dredged material disposal sites by reducing the area needed for the placement of dredged material in a confined disposal facility (CDF). The purpose of this thesis is to discuss the applicability of converting dredged material to topsoil as a beneficial use of dredged material. The site selection in terms of location, material, and marketing are paramount in determining the most economically feasible alternative. Location in terms of dredged material, sewage treatment facility, and potential markets all must be considered. The chemical and physical composition of the dredged material must be addressed since the amount of contaminants or salt has an affect on the application of the topsoil. The paper also presents a dredged material to topsoil. The economic factors that control the final selection for the test site are presented. The factors include excavation, transportation, and manufacturing costs.
Graalum, Sara Jo Ann (1997). Methodology for determining feasibility and cost for converting dredged material to topsoil. Master's thesis, Texas A&M University. Available electronically from
https : / /hdl .handle .net /1969 .1 /ETD -TAMU -1997 -THESIS -G73.