Lake Revitalization

In today’s world, lake revitalization requires a new approach.  Why drain the lake? Trident Dredging and Marine offers this new approach to lake revitalization. Trident dredging brings new tools and approaches to the plight of lake communities and land owners. By mobilizing its amphibious Amphibex excavator, Trident Dredging is able to offer a new way to conduct sediment removal and lake restoration and revitalization along with water quality improvement.

Lake water quality is a general term that refers to a general description of the properties of a water body. Lakes that have a high water quality possess properties that make them prized resources to society and nature. For many lakes, as they age over centuries, there is buildup of nutrients, sediment, and plant material, which slowly fill the lake basin. However, humans, by altering nutrient inputs, have greatly increased the pace at which sedimentation (eutrophication) can occur. To find out more about lake health visit: < lakescientist.com>

It is estimated that a significant number of lakes in the USA suffer from severe sediment buildup. This results from soil erosion and cultural eutrophication. Serious silting not only hampers the use of the lake, boating, fishing or recreation, it also presents a serious hazard to the aquatic environment. Significantly, the filling in of lakes can present serious safety and health problems such as fish kills, algal blooms, increased retention of pollutants, choking aquatic vegetation and cultural eutrophication.

Currently, the community of Baton Rouge, LA, is facing this problem where the city’s series of urban lakes have lost significant depth from soil erosion and run off. This has had a negative influence on the water quality, habitat, recreational use and public enjoyment. Citizens of Baton Rouge are proud of its keystone lakes. Currently, the community is seeking methods to restore the lake quality.   Other communities and land owners across the USA are facing similar problems with distressed bodies of water.

The traditional engineering solution has been to drain the lake and remove the sediment using heavy earth moving equipment or bring in mechanical excavation equipment to get at the material from the shore line. These methods are costly.  They are hugely disruptive, messy and very time consuming. In some cases they have changed, for the worst, the ecological make-up of the lake environment; picture the perfect breeding ground for mosquitoes and other unpleasant features surrounding a large muddy hole in the ground.

New Technology Leads To Progressive Approaches
Overall, the Amphibex was particularly designed with cost-wise shallow draft dredging in mind. Dredge designers have taken the best of European environmental conservation practices and built a serious excavation machine to sensitively manipulate an aquatic landscape. The Amphibex brings technological updates to the marine dredge and construction field. These technological advancements translate into capabilities that will result in key benefits in the job performance. First, the Amphibex serves to drive down job costs. Second, the multipurpose capabilities of the Amphibex allow one machine to perform different aquatic construction applications whereas others have to deploy several single purpose machines. Finally, the Amphibex’s state-of-the-art horizontal cutter head allows greater production rates and cleaner material handling producing lower water turbidity. For Team Trident and the client, this translates into quicker project completion at a more reasonable cost.  The material removal by the Amphibex is so gentle one could fish from the aft (rear) while excavating material.

Minimalist Least- Disruptive Approach
The Trident Amphibex allows job performance using the wet-side-in technique combined with it’s small, ecological foot print, allowing the lake’s environment to continue functioning naturally.  Likewise, there is little disruption to recreational use and wildlife presence in the habitat.

Precision Sediment Removal
Amphibex’s ability to perform precision dredging is a critical and often overlooked performance feature. The dexterity of its hydraulic arm and platform stability allow the Amphibex to precisely remove material in tight conditions such as around marinas and dock areas. Also notable, Amphibex is able to contour lake depth levels to enhance the aquatic environment and sport fish reproduction.

Beneficial Use Objective
A key methodology in today’s dredging field is beneficial use of sediment. Coupling the Amphibex machine’s powerful pumping system to the appropriate material handling system will enable the project to achieve the best appropriate secondary use of spill material. In recent projects, sediment material has been used to revitalize wetlands, shorelines, create beaches, and enhance landscapes and other great applications.

End Result
The capabilities of the Amphibex are bringing about remarkable advancements–a revolution–in the capability to conduct lake maintenance, enhance enjoyment and property value. Trident Dredging and Marine is here to help you realize how this can be accomplished.