REPORT DOCUMENTATION PAGE

Form Approved

REPORT DOCUMENTATION PAGE

OMB No. 0704-0188

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2. REPORT TYPE

1. REPORT DATE (DD-MM-YYYY)

3. DATES COVERED (From - To)

Final report

June 2004

4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE

5a. CONTRACT NUMBER

Demonstration Project on Dredging and Marsh Development Using a Flexible-Discharge

5b. GRANT NUMBER

Dustpan Dredge at Head of Passes/Southwest Pass Mississippi River

5c. PROGRAM ELEMENT NUMBER

6. AUTHOR(S)

5d. PROJECT NUMBER

Timothy L. Welp, James E. Clausner, Doug Thompson, Joaquin Mujica, George Boddie

5e. TASK NUMBER

5f. WORK UNIT NUMBER

7. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES)

8. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION REPORT

NUMBER

See reverse.

ERDC/CHL TR-04-3

9. SPONSORING / MONITORING AGENCY NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES)

10. SPONSOR/MONITOR'S ACRONYM(S)

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

Washington, DC 20314-1000

11. SPONSOR/MONITOR'S REPORT

NUMBER(S)

12. DISTRIBUTION / AVAILABILITY STATEMENT

Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited.

13. SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES

14. ABSTRACT

The navigation channel of the Mississippi River in the vicinity of the Head of Passes (HOP) downstream of New Orleans is an area

where significant dynamic shoaling occurs. During the traditional high-water period in the spring, the shoaling in this area occurs

rapidly and can represent a hazard to deep-draft vessel traffic. The shoaling must be removed rapidly to maintain adequate channel

depth. Currently, dredging of the channel at HOP is conducted using hopper dredges, primarily due to their mobility. Hydraulic dredges

with conventional spudding systems and floating discharge pipelines, such as cutterhead dredges, are considered a safety hazard in this

area due to their inability to rapidly (and consistently) move out of the way of vessel traffic. Unfortunately, hopper dredges simply move

the dredged material out of the channel and redeposit it in open-water disposal sites at the heads of Pass A Loutre and South Pass. There

are two disadvantages to this technique. First, the disposal sites periodically become so filled with material that the hoppers cannot

bottom dump dredged material at the sites. The dredged material must be handled again at additional cost to provide sites for hopper

disposal. Secondly, there is no beneficial use of the dredged material. Hopper dredges can use direct pump-out to place material bene-

ficially in adjacent shallow open-water areas for marsh restoration, but this is considered costly and has never been done before at the

HOP.

(Continued)

Dustpan dredge

Hydraulic pipeline dredge

15. SUBJECT TERMS

Beneficial uses

Marsh restoration

Flexible pipeline

Floating pipe

Dredged material placement

19a. NAME OF RESPONSIBLE

16. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION OF:

17. LIMITATION

18. NUMBER

PERSON

OF ABSTRACT

OF PAGES

a. REPORT

b. ABSTRACT

c. THIS PAGE

19b. TELEPHONE NUMBER (include

area code)

UNCLASSIFIED

Standard Form 298 (Rev. 8-98)

Prescribed by ANSI Std. 239.18