Dredging around utilities is challenging, and mistakes can be expensive and dangerous. When utilities, such as power lines, natural gas lines or fiber optics, are above ground they can be easily marked, and a plan can be developed to avoid them. However, when these same utilities are underwater, locating them and working around them adds an additional layer of risk for the contractor.

Turbidity is a hot-button issue in the environmental dredging industry because if it is not controlled, contamination can spread to clean areas. Since every dredge project will experience the presence of suspended sediments in the water column, proper measures are taken to control this problem.

Recently Susan Pastor with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency wrote an article in the Spring 2012 edition of the Fox River Current titled “Latest Technology Guides Hydraulic Dredge”.  The article was about the use of a Real Time Kinematic Global Positioning System (RTK-GPS) to aid the dredge operator in removing contaminated sediments from the Fox River in Green Bay, WI.  In the article she writes about the use of the system and how it improves the accuracy in which a dredge operator can remove targeted sediments to designated depths.  These operators can view their progress in real time using pricey, high accuracy equipment.