DREDGE

DREDGE was developed to assist users in making a priori assessments of environmental impacts from proposed dredging operations. DREDGE estimates the mass rate at which bottom sediments become suspended into the water column as the result of hydraulic and mechanical dredging operations and the resulting suspended sediment concentrations. These are combined with information about site conditions to simulate the size and extent of the resulting suspended sediment plume. DREDGE also estimates particulate and dissolved contaminant concentrations in the water column based upon sediment contaminant concentrations and equilibrium partitioning theory. The basic features of DREDGE include:

1. Easy and rapid calculation of dredge plume concentrations resulting from mechanical and hydraulic dredging operations.

2. Graphical user interface (GUI) for user data input, spreadsheet output, and graphical output.

3. Relational database system with point-and-click interface for contaminant modeling.

4. Extensive toxic organic chemical and heavy metal database system plus default Kow values for over 200 chemicals.

5. On-line help system to guide user through the application.

6. Spreadsheet and graphical output capabilities.

7. Ability to save all output information in MS Excel (*.xls) file format.

8. Source strength models for mechanical and hydraulic dredging operations.

9. 2-D analytical transport model to predict the fate of resuspended sediments without particle flocculation in a water column.