Case Study: An Amphibious Excavator is the Shoreline Management Solution

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

  • 300‐acre man-made lake formed by a dam
  • Fed by over 200 freshwater natural springs
  • Over 22 miles of shoreline with 35 coves
  • Surrounded by rolling hills and lush fields
  • Developed in the 1960s as a summer vacation community
  • Now a 3,500‐acre private gated community

PROJECT CHALLENGE

Has an estimated 47,000 cubic yards of silt has accumulated in the coves

The lake receives an additional 800 cubic yards of nutrient-laden silt annually

The lake also receives large amounts of leaves and other organic debris

Dredging needs to occur with little or no interruption of lake activities

Access to much of the shoreline inhibited due to homes

THE SOLUTION

The unique characteristics of the Aquarius Systems’ AE‐12 Amphibious Excavator is what makes it the perfect equipment for this light dredging and shoreline management project. This excavator features a barge-mounted backhoe and working primarily from the water, it has a 22’ reach and can rotate 360 degrees infinitely.

Working alongside the excavator is a TB‐12 Tender Barge designed to haul the dredged material to an offloading site where a dump truck with an attached grapple is used to remove the material to a specified dump site.

In 9‐1/2 years, the homeowner’s association was able to remove 35,173 cubic yards of dredged spoils clear all of the coves of silt. Shallow trenches were created across the coves establishing an area to trap future sediment and preventing it from going further into the lake.

The dredging process has not only created deeper coves with the sediment removal but has increased the water quality in the coves and increased fish spawning areas.

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