The before and after difference on this mucky Florida lake shocked me

I been running dredge jobs for about 8 years now and last month I pulled up before photos of a retention pond in Lakeland, Florida from 2019. The sediment was almost 4 feet deep in spots and the water looked like chocolate milk. After running a 12-inch cutterhead suction dredge for 3 straight weeks, the same spot had less than 6 inches of silt and the water clarity improved by over 80 percent. The difference was mostly because we switched to a slower swing speed with a more constant slurry flow, which kept the solids from settling back down mid-job. Has anyone else seen that big of a change just by adjusting swing rate?

2 comments

2 Comments

taylor.jessica20d ago

Saw a similar thing on a pond in Georgia last year. We were running a 10-inch and just couldnt get the clarity to hold till we cut the swing speed by about 40 percent. That steady flow made all the difference. You ever try adding a small flocculant assist on the suction end for really stubborn colloids? Helps keep the fines from drifting right back into suspension while you're still working.

amygonzalez20d ago

Did you read about that polymer trick for binding fines?