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by Dan Egan | Source: Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel

The fish have migrated to within 15 miles of the new barrier. The only defense for the Great Lakes for the past several years has been a smaller, weaker “experimental” barrier that has a history of failing and that biologists believe is not strong enough to repel juvenile carp, which, because of their size, are less affected by electrified water.

Some Great Lakes advocates are beyond frustrated with the way the Army Corps of Engineers has handled the project, noting that the ravenous filter-feeders, disparagingly dubbed the “100-pound zebra mussel,” could destroy what’s left of the lakes’ ecological integrity and multibillion-dollar fishing and tourist industries.

“They are not looking out for the public’s interest,” charges Tom Marks of the New York chapter of the Great Lakes Sport Fishing Council. “They’re looking out for the barge operators.”

To date nearly $1 million has been spent to examine such things as what would happen if someone tumbles off a barge and into the electrified water in the barrier zone, which covers a half-mile of canal.

According to documents the Journal Sentinel obtained through the Freedom of Information Act, the U.S. Navy’s Experimental Diving Unit was hired to do that job. It took $100,000 and more than a year of computer modeling and analysis, but the Navy has finally reached a conclusion: Similar to falling into icy water, you might be incapacitated and die. Or, you might not.

Read the full story, concerns, quotes and many more details at the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel >>

by Jeff Kart | Source: Bay City Times (photos)

A plastic pipe is spewing black water onto a man-made island in Saginaw Bay.

The stinky stuff is coming from a dredging barge in the distance that’s sucking up silt and pumping the contents into the Saginaw Bay Confined Disposal Facility.

When the Corps finished constructing the island in October 1978, it was designed to last about 10 years, and hold 10 million cubic yards of dredged material from the Lower Saginaw River and Bay, said Ken Drum, an engineering technician for the Corps in Detroit.

With modifications made since then, the CDF now has about 800,000 cubic yards, or eight years, of capacity left, said Angie Mundell, project manager for the Corps in Detroit.

Duerod said she thinks the Corps is about two years away from facing a “crucial need” to address the island’s capacity. That could mean raising the dikes or, less likely, looking for space for a new dredging disposal site, she said.

Last fall, MCM Marine Inc. of Sault Ste. Marie began dredging about two miles of the bay channel under a $1.3 million contract.

The company expects to pipe more than 300,000 cubic yards of dredgings to Channel Island before the work is finished in October, said Ferguson, construction representative from the Corps’ Detroit office.

“It’s like a super vacuum cleaner,” he said of the hydraulic dredging being done by MCM.

The dredgings - about 80 percent water and 20 percent sediment - take years before they turn from black gunk to what looks like fresh beach sand.

But “wash your hands,” Ferguson cautions after a visitor scoops up a bit of the dried dredgings.

Read the full story, see photos at the Bay City Times >>

Source: LCA

Cleveland - A malfunction of the Poe Lock at Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, on September 24 has illustrated the pressing need for Congress to appropriate the funds to build another lock capable of handling the largest U.S.-Flag Great Lakes freighters.

Although the vessel delays totaled only about three hours, had the problem been more severe, cargo movement on the Lakes would have slowed to a trickle. U.S.-Flag Lakers whose length and/or beam restrict them to the Poe Lock represent 70 percent of U.S.-Flag carrying capacity.

“The Poe Lock that connects Lake Superior to the lower Great Lakes is the single point of failure that can cripple Great Lakes shipping,” said James H.I. Weakley, President of Lake Carriers’ Association. “In 2007, the Poe Lock handled nearly 65 million tons of cargo. Without that lock, America’s steel industry is cut off from its major source of iron ore. Without that lock, Great Lakes basin utilities are denied access to clean-burning low-sulfur coal. There just aren’t enough ships that are small enough to transit the MacArthur Lock to make up for loss of Poe-class vessels.” Read the rest of this entry »

Source: Duluth News Tribune

Commercial shipping between Lake Superior and the lower Great Lakes was on hold for a few hours today after a malfunction of the Poe Lock in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich.

The 1,200-foot-long lock’s gate malfunctioned at 9 a.m., and crews were called in to investigate with an underwater camera. Three ships were delayed while the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers worked to determine the cause of the malfunction.

Repairs were made by early afternoon, allowing normal vessel traffic to resume.

Brian Mulherin | Source: Ludington Daily News

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers didn’t waste any time ordering a survey of Ludington’s harbor after a 630-foot freighter was stuck for 40 minutes or more Saturday.

The ship, which reported a draft of 24.3 feet to Coast Guard Station Ludington, became lodged on bottom as it entered the harbor from the west-northwest.

… Ludington’s harbor is dredged once every three years and normally down to 30 feet, but last year the dredging only went to 28 feet due to federal budget constraints.

… Wednesday’s survey revealed the shoal is a little larger and a little higher off bottom, with depths as shallow as 22.5 feet recorded in an area that spans 150 feet from west to east.

How the survey was done, previous observations and more at the Ludington Daily News >>

by Jeff Kart | Source: Bay City Times

Dredging of the Upper Saginaw River is set to begin later this month, now that a contract has been awarded for the work.

The river’s navigational channel will be cleared for the first time in more than a decade, said Wayne Schloop, chief of operations for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Detroit.

Ships have had to lighten their loads for years on the river, driving up costs and threatening about 200 jobs associated with shipping.

“We did an emergency portion back in 2006, but we haven’t really done any type of comprehensive dredging since the mid-90s on the river,” Schloop said.

…The contract has been awarded to low-bidder Luedtke Engineering Co. of Frankfort for $1.9 million. The company plans to begin the dredging by the end of the month and finish it this fall, Schloop said.

Much more to the story at the Bay City Times >>

Source: Dowagiac News

Standing on Dock 63, U.S. Rep. Fred Upton, R-St. Joseph, hailed the return of commercial activity to St. Joseph-Benton Harbor Inner Harbor as the first commercial freighter docked Aug. 8.

Upton in late March called on the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to designate the harbor for emergency dredging after severe shoaling clogged the harbor and made it impassable for commercial traffic.

Upton’s emergency designation cleared the way for $1.8 million in federal funds to reopen the vital waterway for Great Lakes shipping.

… The freighter Sam Laud delivered the first commercial shipment of the season at 8:30 a.m. Friday - 12,800 tons of limestone for construction of the I-94/U.S. 131 interchange in Kalamazoo County.

Quotes, more about dredging and port operations at the Dowagiac News >>

by Tom Skilling | Source: Chicago Tribune

Lake Michigan’s water level has risen 8 inches above the same period a year ago. Once just 6 to 12 inches above all-time lows, lake levels are up in response to the same downpours that caused many area rivers to flood. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which monitors the Great Lakes, predicts the higher levels are to hold through the coming months, though, barring new waves of heavy rains, the biggest rises have probably already occurred. Interconnected Lakes Michigan and Huron are unlikely to change significantly in the next month.

The corps reports other Great Lakes have experienced increased levels as well, with Lake Superior 16 inches higher than a year ago.

Full story at the Chicago Tribune >>

Source: Dredging News Online

MLive.com reports that a project to dredge the navigation channel in the Saginaw River from Bay City south to Saginaw is on track to begin in late August, acording to the Saginaw County public works commissioner.

The US Army Corps of Engineers plans to bid out the work soon, and award a contract by August 20th, said Lynn Duerod, a Corps spokeswoman in Detroit.

The same report said the Corps also is lining up US$3.8 million worth of dredging money for 2009, to clear out a backlog of silt in the lower river, Bay City to the mouth, and in Saginaw Bay. The US$3.8 million was included in an Energy and Water Appropriations bill that cleared a US Senate committee on July 11th.

Read the full story at Dredging News >>

Alison Dietz | Source: Chronicle-Telegram

Harbors in Lorain and other nearby lake cities will be dredged over the next few months.

The Lorain Harbor disposal facility, built in 1977, covers 58 acres and has been filled to its capacity of 1,850,000 cubic yards of dredged material. The city and Army Corps of Engineers added an extra wall of earth to hold in this season’s haul. “It is a stopgap until we develop another site for dredge material in the future,” said Novak.

Once a new site is found, the current facility will be converted into a mixed-use area with open space as well as waterfront retail, commercial buildings, and residences.

This year’s dredging is expected to be completed in mid-August.

Full story at the Chronicle-Telegram >>

by Robert C. Burns | The Musekgon Chronicle

Muskegon is a deep-water port again, following a spring dredging operation that returned the outer harbor to safe depths of up to 30 feet.

The King Co. of Holland restored those depths under a dredging schedule expedited by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers after four lake freighters were halted during the last shipping season.

However, the Corps of Engineers says the dredging contractor missed one small area south of the centerline approach between Muskegon’s outer pierheads. In that area, recent surveys indicated a depth as shallow as 26.2 feet.

That discovery prompted the Corps to send out a notice to shippers similar to one issued last August, which warned shippers of “shoaling,” the presence of a sandbar, outside Muskegon’s harbor entrance.

Read the full story at the Muskegon Chronicle >>

by Robert C. Burns | Source: Muskegon Chronicle

Muskegon is a deep-water port again following a now-completed spring dredging operation that returned the outer harbor to safe depths of up to 30 feet.

The King Co. of Holland restored those depths under dredging schedule expedited the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers after four lake freighters were halted during the last shipping season.

However, under a notice to navigation interests sent out last week by the Detroit office of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the contractor missed one small area south of the centerline approach between Muskegon’s outer pierheads.

…In the area the contractor missed an area the Corps refers to as the “south flare,” the shallowest depth is listed as 26.2 feet, but isn’t considered critical, given its location.

“Dredging is an inexact science,” said Wayne Schloop, chief of operations for the Corps’ Detroit office. “We wouldn’t make the contractor come back to try to clear that type of small shoal, which is minor and would have little impact on navigation.”

More quotes, details at the Muskegon Chronicle >>

Brian Mulherin | Source: Ludington Daily News

Lake Michigan, which normally comes up 2 inches in June, is up 5 inches through 22 days.

Lake Michigan is by no means at or even near its long-term average, but it’s getting closer every month. Right now, the lake is about 14 inches below the average June level from 1918-2007. The lake’s current elevation, 578.1 feet above sea level, is 4 inches above last year’s water height.

Higher lake levels mean Great Lakes shippers can carry more freight and might mean easier recreational boating for many.

More details, quotes from USACE at the Ludington Daily News >>

by Jeff Kart | Source: The Bay City Times (See photos, map)

The [Dredged Material Disposal Facility] - a 200-acre clay pit built in Frankenlust and Zilwaukee townships to hold dredgings from the Upper Saginaw River - was discussed Tuesday night at a public meeting at Saginaw Valley State University.

Disagreements were everywhere among the 50 people who attended.

… Residents who live across from the site in Zilwaukee Township, which also includes hundreds of acres of constructed wetlands, don’t think either agency has done enough to deal with their concerns.

They worry that the DMDF was built in a flood plain that was underwater in 1986 and will hold levels of dioxins and furans far above the state residential contact criteria for the compounds, of 90 parts per trillion.

Dioxin levels in the Saginaw River, blamed on historical discharges by Dow Chemical in Midland, have been measured at 1.6 million parts per trillion, the highest in the nation.

Terry Miller, chairman of the local Lone Tree Council environmental group, said the Corps should conduct environmental dredging, with a vacuum and hose, rather than standard dredging, with a crane and bucket, to minimize the spread of contaminants.

But Leady said his agency has determined that “standard mechanical dredging is a safe practice here.”

… The Corps plans to award a contract in August, and conduct the dredging throughout the rest of the year, putting in the most contaminated materials first, based on sediment testing.

Solids in the dredgings, which will be mostly water, will settle out in three cells of the facility over a number of months.

Water will be discharged back to the river once it’s been tested and shown to meet DEQ water quality standards.

Excellent detailed story, see photos and map at The Bay City Times >>

by Barrie Barber | The Saginaw News

Richard C. Curry unearthed a 123-year-old map of the murky bottom of the Saginaw River.

No one knows the origins of the map, which shows how deep the water was along about a mile of the serpentine waterway.

But it’s signed by O.M. Poe, a “Lieut. Colonel of the Engineers and C.”

… “I just thought it would be a nice piece to donate,” Curry said.

The cartographic drawing suggests that sailors and business barons considered the depth of the river, which floated legions of logs during the booming lumber era, as important as modern-day mariners do in 21st century Saginaw, Mudd said.

“The navigation corridor was there even in the 1880s,” he said. “They most likely were dredging at that time.”

Read the full story and see a picture of the old map at the Saginaw News >>

Source: Ludington Daily News

Tom O’Bryan, chief of operations of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers office in Grand Haven, reported that after taking measurements and soundings of Lake Michigan Monday, dredging of the Ludington shipping channel will not be needed this year.

He said the it’s plenty deep enough for shipping.

Source: Soo Evening News

Edison Sault Electric Company will host self-guided tours at its hydroelectric plant on Friday, June 27. The tours will begin at the east end of the hydro plant near Alford Park and will run from 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. The tours are in conjunction with Engineer’s Day at the Soo Locks.

More on the displays, areas open to tour at the Soo Evening News >>

BY STEPHEN KLOOSTERMAN | Source: Grand Haven Tribune

HOLLAND — Recent rains are only a drop in the bucket as far as raising Lake Michigan’s water level, area officials say.

In fact, recent storms could make some waterways even less navigable by commercial and recreational vessels due to shoaling.

Tom O’Bryan, a civil engineer with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineer’s Grand Haven Office, said he was worried that mud and silt would be washed into the Lake Macatawa channel so that it would have to be dredged.

Read the full story, observations at the Grand Haven Tribune >>

by Cole Waterman | Source: The Saginaw News (photos)

With construction of a spoils site due for completion in one to three weeks, dredging of the Saginaw River is just around the bend.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has begun building 14 monitoring wells around the 500-acre disposal facility in Zilwaukee Township and Bay County’s Frankenlust Township.

“We’re clearing the navigation channel so freighters and cargo ships can get through,” said Lynn M. Duerod, spokeswoman for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Detroit.

… Saginaw County Public Works Commissioner James A. Koski expects the dredging to begin in August.

Read the full story, see photos at The Saginaw News >>