Why Add Polymers?

One of the biggest challenges on a dredging project is managing the water that is excavated and transported with the sediment. On hydraulic dredging jobs where sediment and water are pumped through a pipeline as a slurry, water can account for 90+ percent of the volumetric flow. After the slurry reaches the disposal area, the water must be separated from the sediment, collected, and often clarified or treated. This process must happen as fast as the water is being pumped, which for a 12-inch cutterhead dredge could be 5,000 gallons per minute.

Stray current corrosion is a common threat to water-based steel structures such as barge terminals. Though hard to identify the source, damage from stray current can be prevented by following 3 simple steps.

Pride in Our Company

Pride is a common theme for us at Brennan. As an organization, we are privileged to be in a position where we can have so much of which to be proud. We’re lucky to have employees who commit to making Brennan a great place to work, and we are proud to have them. Finally, we are proud to be able to say that 96% of our employees are proud to share they work at Brennan, which we discovered from the findings of our 2018 Great Place to Work® re-certification.

Working around water poses a plethora of challenges. There are always two parts of a water-based project, the above and below water sections. Access to the above water section is easy, however when working below the waterline access is not that easy. One of the more apparent issues is what do you do when the water is in the way of your work? One solution is to build a cofferdam.

Save Money with This Long-term Fix for Scour Problems

Scour poses a large threat to the stability of any structure that is partially or entirely underwater. It may develop slowly over time, or be brought on quickly by an intense rain event or seasonal flooding. In some cases, such as along a shoreline, scour can be very evident. In others, scour can go unnoticed for an extended period of time. Whether it is taking place around the footing of a bridge pier, along the base of a sheet pile wall, or along a tailrace on a dam, scour may not be evident until the structure begins to show signs above the water. At this point, the structure is beginning to fail and repairs must be done soon to avoid a total loss of integrity. Repairing scour and erosion issues that may be going unnoticed in any location is vital as it will save a lot of money in the long run, and extend the life of the structure.

Our experience in wetland habitat restoration began decades ago with the Upper Mississippi River Restoration Program (UMRR), the largest restoration program ever undertaken on a major waterway worldwide.  Since then, restoring marshes, wetlands, and highly sensitive ecosystems along inland and coastal waters nationwide has been a main initiative.

Lock and Dams, bridges, pipeline crossings, and barge terminals are all examples of water-based infrastructure. Ensuring that these structures maintain their integrity is essential to their continued operation, however water-based infrastructure presents an added challenge because a portion of the structure is underwater.

---Updated July 25, 2022, by Kimberly Walters---

Upgrading infrastructure in the United States of America has long been delayed and is now reaching a critical point. Replacing railroad bridges that are old or have exceeded their useful design life is just as important as any other element of our nation’s infrastructure. Bridges are a small component of an extensive railroad system. However, if taken out of service, a whole line could be shut down. Railroad companies would lose time, expenses would increase, and commodities would be delayed.

A story of Total Quality Management for an inland marine company.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics classifies a dredge operator as a person who removes sand, gravel, or other material in order to excavate and maintain navigable channels in waterways. In the industry, we call the dredge operator a leverman. This is a historical remnant of the days when the pilothouse, or lever room, was full of mechanical levers that controlled various parts of the dredge. The levers eventually gave way to computerized control systems...