Page 12 - Port of Baltimore - Issue 5 - 2022

PORT SOUNDINGS
DREDGING
Ellicott Dredges Helps Puerto Rico with Hurricane Sediment Deposits
At the Port of Baltimore, dredging is most familiar as a way to keep shipping channels clear and restore eroding coastal lands. But in Puerto Rico, local company Ellicott Dredges is helping to ensure a different benefit: the supply of clean water to local residents.
Puerto Rico has faced the wrath of several hurricanes over the past decades, particularly from 2017’s Hurricane Maria, which has contributed to increased amounts of sediment in one of the most important reservoirs in Puerto Rico.
This reservoir is the source of the water supply to various regions all around the country. But as a result of sediment buildup, the reservoir in Arecibo has lost 70% percent of its water capacity. This is bad news for the nearby regions, as it drastically decreases the amount of water that can be filtered.
This is where Ellicott Dredges came into play. In late 2021, the Ellicott 670 Dredge was shipped to Puerto Rico, where a local company began executing the removal of the sediment in the reservoir of Arecibo, per a contract with the Puerto Rico Aqueduct and Sewer Authority, a government entity responsible for managing distribution of water and
70,000 M3 OF
SEDIMENT
has been removed from the Arecibo reservoir
sewage maintenance. Up to this point, a total of
70,000 m3 has been removed
[10] The Port of Baltimore ■ ISSUE 5 / 2022
from the reservoir. According to the local supplier, the plan is to restore the capacity of the
reservoir to 100% by the end of this project. The dredge is operating nine hours a day, three days a week.
Ellicott’s 670 dredge, with 800 horsepower and up to 42 feet digging depth, is well equipped for this project and should be able to remove most, if not all, the sediment in the reservoir in the next few years.