Why Is Dredging Essential For Ponds, Lakes, and Waterways?
By: Savannah Sayan
What is dredging?
Dredging is defined as the mechanical removal of sand, silt, and other built up sediments from the bottoms, banks, and sides of a body of water. This accumulation of materials under the surface of a body of water is called sedimentation which is a natural process caused by erosion. Those curious about dredging often ask “If sedimentation is a natural process, why should we disturb it?” and “Why is dredging neighborhood ponds, lakes, and waterways essential?”
The dangers of sediment pollution.
An oversized amount of sedimentation is classified as sediment pollution and comes with very serious risks. One drawback of sediment pollution is the change in water depth, which creates a domino effect in the body of water’s ecosystem. The temperature of a body of water is directly related to the water’s depth; the water will generally be warmer as the depth becomes shallower. When a body of water grows too warm, it will not be able to sustain healthy life. If your neighborhood retention pond is not regularly dredged, the entire pond’s ecosystem will slowly die out, hurting the environmental health of your neighborhood.
Eliminating highly toxic pollution in our waterways.
Sedimentation is not limited to sand and silt either. Sediment pollution is riddled with much more harmful material such as decaying organisms and even human litter like plastic products. If not for dredging, this harmful debris can fester in the water and harm the ecosystem until it dies out. The best way to preserve your neighborhood retention pond’s health is to remove this pollution effectively by utilizing dredging.
How does sediment pollution further impact our community?
The massive hazard of sediment pollution effects community members in a more personal way than often realized. The decrease of neighborhood retention pond health can greatly decrease property value for home owners. More importantly, the decrease of a retention pond’s depth puts the surrounding community at risk of flooding. All environmental issues caused by sediment pollution will greatly magnify into overwhelming community threats, but are simply solved by routine dredging.
Preventing all of the issues caused by sediment pollution.
Sedimentation and erosion are natural processes that cause major harm if not controlled. The best way to control sediment pollution is by ensuring that our ponds, lakes, canals, and waterways are dredged by highly skilled experts. L.E.W.’s greatest mission is to maintain community safety and solve problems in environmentally conscious, creative, and effective ways. Your neighborhood deserves a crew with over twenty years of experience, access to the highest quality of machinery, and passion to efficiently solve problems in your community. Please visit our contact page if you are in need of skilled assistance. L.E.W. Inc. is here to help!
Some pictures and video graciously provided by Geoform International.
