The beneficial use of dredged materials improves environmental outcomes while maximizing navigation benefits and minimizing costs, in accordance with the principles of the Engineering With Nature® (EWN) initiative. Yet, few studies document the long-term benefits of innovative dredged material management strategies or conduct comprehensive life-cycle analysis because of a combination of (1) short monitoring time frames and (2) the paucity of constructed projects that have reached ecological maturity. In response, we conducted an ecological functional and engineering benefit assessment of six historic (>40 years old) dredged material–supported habitat improvement projects where initial postconstruction beneficial use monitoring data was available. Conditions at natural reference locations were also documented to facilitate a comparison between natural and engineered landscape features. Results indicate the projects examined provide valuable habitat for a variety of species in addition to yielding a number of engineering (for example, shoreline protection) and other (for example, carbon storage) benefits. Our findings also suggest establishment of ecological success criteria should not overemphasize replicating reference conditions but remain focused on achieving specific ecological functions (that is, habitat and biogeochemical cycling) and engineering benefits (that is, storm surge reduction, navigation channel maintenance) achievable through project design and operational management.
An assessment of long-term, multipurpose ecosystem functions and engineering benefits derived from historical dredged sediment beneficial use projects
