Dredged Material Spatial Management, Analysis, and Record Tool (DMSMART)

Technical Note DOER-N2

April 1998

Dredged Material Spatial Management,

Analysis, and Record Tool (DMSMART)

PURPOSE: This technical note describes the Dredged Material Spatial Management, Analysis,

and Record Tool (DMSMART), a personal-computer- (PC-) based software package being devel-

oped to assist Corps staff in managing their dredging and dredged material placement activities.

Feedback on its features and implementation is requested. Also described is an existing software

package, the Disposal Analysis Network for New York (DAN-NY), currently available from

Science Applications International Corporation, which formed the basis for DMSMART.

BACKGROUND: Managing dredging and dredged material placement has become more compli-

cated as the number of regulations applicable to these activities has increased, and resource agencies

and environmental groups have subjected the Corps to greater scrutiny on dredging projects. A

customized Geographic Information System- (GIS-) based software system can be used to greatly

facilitate dredging project management. Recent advances in computer hardware and software have

allowed the development of sophisticated, but easy-to-use GISs for PCs.

Challenges faced by the U.S. Army Engineer District, New York, in managing their open-water

disposal site, the Mud Dump site, led to their funding development of a district-specific software

package for site management, DAN-NY. Delivered in June 1997, DAN-NY was developed as a

joint effort between two contractors (Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) and

Applied Science Associates (ASA)) and the U.S. Army Engineer Waterways Experiment Station

(WES). Present users of DAN-NY (including the New York District, WES, and SAIC) have all

been impressed with its ability to facilitate site management.

WES association with the New York District and DAN-NY development, along with general site

management experience, led to the conclusion that a Corps-wide software package for managing

various aspects of the dredging and placement process would be valuable. Under the Dredging

Operations and Environmental Research (DOER) Program, WES is heading the development of

DMSMART. Like DAN-NY, DMSMART will be a GIS-based software package customized for

the dredging/placement application, and it will also include several WES models. To effectively

use DMSMART once the initial software development is complete, Corps Districts need to begin

developing databases of dredging project and placement site monitoring data.

This technical note consists of a description of dredging and placement site management challenges

that are well-suited to the capabilities of a GIS-based software system. This is followed by

descriptions of the New York District site management difficulties that led to DAN-NY develop-

ment, DAN-NY specifications, a discussion of DMSMART, and finally a description of the

DMSMART implementation plan.