Compiled by: Marjan Euser (marjan.euser@deltares.nl)
Subscription Service: SedNet Secretariat (marjan.euser@deltares.nl)
Disclaimer: SedNet is not responsible for faults due to incorrectness of info in this newsletter
Previous issues: www.sednet.org/newsletter

Contents

• Call for Abstracts 10^th SedNet Conference 14-17 June 2017
• SEDITERRA and SEDRIPORT
• SedNet-ICPDR-ICPER Round Table Discussion
• Portuguese coastal evolution of low-lying sandy beaches in the last 50 years
• The Sand Motor pilot after five years: building with nature on the Dutch coast
• Sediment ElectroKinetic REmediation Technology for heavy metal pollution removal
• Erodibility of mud
• Upcoming events

Call for Abstracts 10^th SedNet Conference 14-17 June 2017

The deadline for submitting abstracts for the 10^th International SedNet conference “Sediments on the Move” that will be held in Genoa, Italy, is getting nearer. Please submit your abstract(s) before 16 January 2017 to the SedNet Secretariat.

Conference topics are:

• Sediments moving to land, and soil moving to water
• Sediment balance
• Using sediments as a resource – Sediments in a circular economy
• Policy for sediment management: Finding the balance; “everything is contaminated”
• Climate change; PIANC and SedNet Think Climate! ensure safe and sustainable development?
• Sediment quality
• Sediment quality criteria: derivation, implementation and enforcement
• Effects of remedial measures
• Innovative maintenance of river-delta-sea systems
• Disposal of sediments at sea
• Transboundary sediments

Text of Call and Format for abstract: https://sednet.org/events/sednet-conference-2017/ (section ‘Downloads’)

SEDITERRA and SEDRIPORT

The day prior to the SedNet Conference (on 13 June 2017), there will be free sessions on recently started European projects: 

SEDITERRA: Guidelines for the treatment of dredged sediments consistent with a strategy and an assessment of the risks related to a land handling of sediments, provides for the capitalization of the knowledge gained from previous projects that have studied management models and treatment technologies applied to brackish and marine sediments, and the consequent experience gained by the French project partner to promote the reuse of treated dredged sediments in order to create new supply chain in circular economy.

The comparison of the different experiences and the results of the different project phases will be used for the preparation of guidelines applicable within the territorial cross-border, for the management to “land” of dredged sediments not submersible or reusable in marine environments, particularly where the legislation should continue to be lacking.

SEDRIPORT: Sediments, Dredging and Harbor risks
Climate change contributes to facilitate and speed up the structural silting of ports, increasing the risk for both the environment and the economic activities related to maritime transport. It seems clear, especially in case of extreme weather events, such a not quick recovery of a harbor seabed may undermine the economic and social fabric of entire communities. Therefore we need to find practical solutions to the problem through a joint action plan and sharing of guidelines aimed to supporting the actions of governance and to propose a single useful legislation to the whole cross-boundary area.
SEDRIPORT deals with problems common to the area of cooperation, arising from the emergency of the port silting: difficult to program ordinary and extraordinary dredging; incomplete and uncoordinated legislation; inconsistent regulations for the reuse of materials excavated from the port seabed; obligation to the global remediation with unsustainable costs.

Detailed information about the programme of the conference and the sessions on SEDITERRA and SEDRIPORT will become available in spring 2017.

SedNet-ICPDR-ICPER Round Table Discussion: Bringing Together Experiences in Sediment Management Concepts – Elbe meets Danube

Sediment Management is an essential element of River Basin Management Plans. Sediment is an essential, integral and dynamic part of our river basins. Where human activities interfere with sediment quantity or quality, sediment management becomes necessary.

SedNet aims at providing scientific and user oriented input into the WFD implementation phase and organised its third Round Table in cooperation with the International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River and the International Commission for the Protection of the Elbe River.

The Round Table Discussion was organised on 8-9 November at Budapest University. About 20 experts from miscellaneous river basins attended.

The objective of this event was to provide a platform for exchanging experiences between both Danube and Elbe river basins to derive generic and specific recommendations for sediment management based on experiences in selected key river basins taking into account legal requirements, needs of users and scientific advice. The discussion was specifically focused on methodological approaches of designing and implementing a sediment management concept. Representatives from other European river basins where similar activities on sediment management have taken place were invited to take part. Until a few years ago, sediment related quantity and quality issues have played a relatively minor role in the Common Implementation Strategy (CIS) process. Such Round Tables are an opportunity for sediment management experts to exchange experiences on the integration of sediment management in river basin management. Central to the EU WFD are River Basin Management Plans, which were published for the first time in 2009.

A report on the outcome of the Round Table will be published in 2017.
For the reports of previous SedNet Round Table Discussions (2006 and 2009) see www.sednet.org.

Portuguese coastal evolution of low-lying sandy beaches in the last 50 years

Beach erosion is one of the leading problems that coastal regions face worldwide, and coastline evolution studies show how much it affects the coastal system. Usually these studies are site-specific and lack an integrated approach to either a large spatial domain or quantification using a single measurement. The first global Portuguese study on low-lying sandy beaches was developed with an integrated approach and provides an openly accessible database to support knowledge on the coastline evolution of Portuguese low-lying sandy coasts in the last 50 years (https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.859136).

Results show erosion as the dominant trend (−0.24 m year⁻¹), but sandy beach–dune systems display a variable evolution, both in signal and intensity, along and within the eight coastal sediment cells of the studied coast. The study identifies Espinho–Torreira, Costa Nova–Praia de Mira, Cova da Gala–Leirosa, and Cova do Vapor–Costa da Caparica coastal stretches as the most significant beach erosion issues found in the Portuguese coastline. These coastal segments adjacent coastal zone is linked with major human interventions, which interfered with the coastal system, and many of which originated and maintained a sediment deficit. In contrast, the coastal segments Troia–Sines and Sines–Cape S. Vicente have experienced less intervention and show stable or moderate accretion behaviour.

These results brings to light the importance of coastal change evaluation and quantification, but also the importance of understanding the underlying causes of such change, which is intertwined with sediment budgets and sediment practices taking place within the coastal zone and adjacent watersheds.

The study is freely available at http://www.earth-syst-sci-data.net/8/265/2016/ and further information can be obtained by contacting fclira@fc.ul.pt.

The Sand Motor pilot after five years: building with nature on the Dutch coast

The Sand Motor on the Delfland Coast in the Netherlands was created in 2011 as a peninsula covering 128 hectares. It is an innovative pilot project for coastline management intended to contribute to coastal protection in the long term. The intention was also to create an additional appealing area for nature and leisure activities on the Delfland coast and to boost current knowledge about coastline management. A monitoring programme has been conducted for the purposes of knowledge development and in order to evaluate whether the objectives have been met.

In the first year after construction, the Sand Motor changed shape faster than expected but in line with the expected pattern based on model calculations in the design phase. Changes after that were slower than expected. The sand body extends about 260 meters less into the sea than when it was created in 2011. At the same time, the area where the coast has been extended seawards became 2.2 kilometres longer. After four years, 95% of the sand used for the Sand Motor is still in the monitoring area and 80% of that sand is still within the contours of the sand body created in 2011. On this basis, it is legitimate to conclude that the lifetime of the Sand Motor will exceed twenty years.

The Sand Motor is a unique feature on the coast of Holland between the cities Hook of Holland and Den Helder. There is more fine and nutrient-rich sediment in these locations, making richer benthic life possible. And that has a positive impact on other species such as birds and fish.

It will become clear during the coming monitoring period whether or not species that live longer will be able to develop in areas where small layers of sand are deposited regularly due to natural dynamics but that are not covered by thick layers.

During and immediately after construction, attitudes were slightly critical. An increasingly large group now approves of the Sand Motor and the project enjoys widespread support.
No safety problems for leisure visitors arose that could not be managed.

The programme is generating new knowledge that can be used for coastline management, for example with respect to the impact of a major nourishment operation on morphology, leisure activities and the ecology. Some of the knowledge development is already being actively used, an example being the app developed for bather safety

The monitoring of the Sand Motor will continue through to 2021. Rijkswaterstaat is leading the effort. In 2021, there will be a solid scientific evaluation of the Sand Motor concept because we will then have a firmer understanding of how the Sand Motor works.

For more info: http://www.dezandmotor.nl/en/

Sediment ElectroKinetic REmediation Technology for heavy metal pollution removal: the LIFE SEKRET project (LIFE12 ENV/IT/000442)

In 2003, a large area of the port of Livorno has been classified as a Site of National Interest (SIN) due to the presence of pollutants in seabed sediments. A Site of National Interest (SIN) represents a very large contaminated area, classified by the Italian legislation as a dangerous area which needs remediation to prevent damage to the environment and health. The site has been subjected to a series of in-depth analyses and characterisations over time. The seabed sediments were analysed by ICRAM (Central Institute for Scientific and Technological Research Applied to the Sea) and the characterisation was carried out over an area of 14 million m² within the port seabed. The characterisation surveys have shown that many areas of the harbour were affected by extremely high contamination level.

The SEKRET project is configured in this context as a future reference point for the improvement of sediment management policies and the increase of sustainability of sediment dredging activities. The project aims to demonstrate the efficacy and reproducibility of the electrokinetic method for the treatment of contaminated sediments in order to make them reusable in the environment, transforming them as an useful resource. The project involves the participation of six beneficiaries: University of Pisa, University of Rome ’La Sapienza’, West Systems s.r.l., Port Authority of Livorno, Tuscany Region and Lambda Consult.

The project started in January 2013 and will end in November 2017. The main project’s actions involved the implementation of an ex-situ electrokinetic treatment facility, which was built in a dedicated area in the Port of Livorno (Italy) and started operation on July 2015. The sediment treatment, which is currently ongoing, will be completed by the end of the project. The pollutants targeted by the remediation process are Cd, Cr, Pb, Ni, Zn, As and Cu. The project goal is to decontaminate the sediments in order to make them compliant with the levels established by the Italian regulations (Legislative Decree 152/2006) for their reuse or recycle.

The plant consists of the following parts:

• treatment basin containing the sediments, with a system of wells and pipes for electrode installation and electrolyte circulation. The basin is equipped with a cover to avoid gas emission to atmosphere and rainfall seepage;
• electrical units for the application of the electric field to the sediment;
• electrolyte management system for catholyte and anolyte pH control;
• gas scrubber system for the treatment of the gas phase in the anolyte circulation circuit for the removal of chlorine gas;
• reverse osmosis (RO) section for the control of the salinity of the electrolytes with solar drying of brine;
• monitoring and control system.

The simplified diagram of the plant is reported in Figure 1.

Figure 1

For further and detailed information please contact the project team at the following page http://lifesekret.com/contact-us/ or visit the project website (http://lifesekret.com/).

Erodibility of mud

Two students from Hanze University in Groningen, the Netherlands, are investigating the erodibility of estuarine mud for SEMASO BV.

Dredging the ports and entrance channels in the Waddensea estuary is an ongoing business to keep them accessible for vessels. This dredging is very expensive and sometimes the effect is unfortunately very temporarily: already after one storm the channel could be silted up again. A structural, cost saving and sustainable solution should be found for the siltation problem of ports and entrance channels in estuaries. A so called ‘flush lake’ could be an ideal solution.

A ‘flush lake’ is a lake which is filled up and emptied due to the tidal difference. With high tide the ‘flush lake’ is filled and with low tide the ‘flush lake’ is emptied. The emptying of the ‘flush lake’ creates a flush through the port or channel and the erosion of the mud will be transported out of the area. This natural solution does not require much maintenance, it can be fully automated and less dredging is required.

The students will use the water flume of the Hanze University to determine the erodibility of mud under varying water currents.

Several tests have been performed with sands of different main grain sizes (D50) in the last couple of weeks. The sands have been monitored with different water flows and preliminary results show good comparison with the ‘Shields curve’. Next step would be to test sediments from a port in the Waddensea estuary.

For more information please contact BSc. René Barth (r.barth@semaso.com).

Upcoming events

9-12 January 2017: Battelle – Ninth International Conference on Remediation of Contaminated Sediments, New Orleans, Louisiana. More information at the conference website: http://www.battelle.org/newsroom/conferences/sedimentscon

8-9 February 2017: North American Dredging Summit, Houston, Texas, USA. http://www.wplgroup.com/aci/event/dredging-summit-america/

26-28 February 2017: International Conference on Sedimentology and Petroleum Geology (SPG 2017), Sanya, China. www.engii.org/conf/SPG/2017Feb/

27-28 March 2017: Navigating a Changing Climate, Brussels, Belgium. An international conference exploring the implications of climate change for waterborne transport infrastructure. http://navclimate.pianc.org/events

7-11 May 2017: SETAC Europe 27th Annual Meeting, Brussels, Belgium. Event of the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry. https://www.setac.org/events/EventDetails.aspx?id=683532

21-26 May 2017: 14th International Symposium on the Interactions between Sediments and Water, Taormina, Italy, organized by the International Association for Sediment Water Science (IASWS). http://www.iasws2017.altervista.org/

14-17 June 2017: 10th International SedNet Conference, co-organised and hosted by University of Genoa/DISTAV and the Port of Genoa Authority. Deadline for abstract submission is 16 January 2016. www.sednet.org

26-30 June 2017: AquaConSoil 2017, Lyon, France. 14th International Conference on Sustainable Use and Management of Soil, Sediment and Water Resources. www.aquaconsoil.org

Disseminated by:

SedNet secretariat:

Mrs. Marjan Euser
Deltares
P.O. Box 85467
NL-3508 AL Utrecht, The Netherlands

Email marjan.euser@deltares.nl

Website: www.SedNet.org
Compiled by: Marjan Euser (marjan.euser@deltares.nl)
Subscription Service: SedNet Secretariat (marjan.euser@deltares.nl)
Disclaimer: SedNet is not responsible for faults due to incorrectness of info in this newsletter
Previous issues: www.sednet.org/newsletter

Contents:

• SedNet (up) to date
• New SedNet Steering Group members
• 10^th SedNet Conference 14-17 June 2017
  with free pre-conference sessions by several European projects on 13 June 2017
• In Memoriam Remi Laane (1949-2016)
• 2^nd International Conference on Deriving Environmental Quality Standards for the Protection of Aquatic Ecosystems (EQSPAE – 2016)
• West African coast struggling with coastal erosion
• Sand tracking study for Mississippi Gulf Coast Beach Management
• Sustainable Port Management Delfzijl
• Seaport of Emden, Germany, reducing dredging costs by 90%
• Upcoming events

SedNet (up) to date

On 27-28 June 2016 SedNet held a steer group (SG) meeting in Oslo.
Main issues on the SG meeting agenda were the preparation of two upcoming SedNet key-events. The first event is the 3^rd SedNet Round Table Discussion (RTD) “Elbe meets Danube” (8-9 November 2016, Budapest). The objective is to exchange experiences between both river basins, and other river basins are welcome to join, on integration of sediment management in WFD River Basin Management Plans (RBMP). Inspired by the work done by SedNet, the SedNet SG member Peter Heininger (BfG) led the process that concluded in the 1^st example of full-bodied inclusion of sediment management in a RBMP, i.e. the one for the Elbe. SedNet, in close cooperation with the river basin commissions of the Elbe and the Danube, now organize this RTD.
The 2^nd event is the 10^th International SedNet conference “Sediments on the Move”. This conference will be held in Genoa, 14-17 June 2017 – see article further in this newsletter.

The SedNet SG was invited by the SG meeting host NGI (also a SedNet SG member) for a nice dinner in the new Olso Opera House. This is a special place for SedNet as the 5^th SedNet conference was held in Olso in 2008, having as conference title “Urban sediment management and port redevelopment”. Especially the management of contaminated dredged material from the harbor in front of this Opera house was in 2008 the reason to have this conference theme. Although environmentally it was regarded the most sustainable solution to dispose this material a bit further in a very deep spot of the Oslo Fjord, action groups caused a lot of concern, delay and thus also costs increase of the dredging operations. Even today public concern and opposition hamper management of dredged material in Norway.

 Oslo Opera House

Authorities investigated the case in eighteen months, and then had to withdraw charges for violation of pollution law.

Photo Green Warriors

SedNet continues to provide a much appreciated platform to all stakeholders, including scientists, to discuss and find generic ways forward to cope with such and other complicated European sediment management issues. Especially where these issues relate to European policies such as the WFD, MSFD, Natura 2000, Biodiversity Strategy and Waste Directive.

By Jos Brils, SedNet SG member, jos.brils@deltares.nl

New SedNet Steering Group members

SedNet is glad to may welcome two new members of the Steering Group:

• Ms Mafalda Carapuço, who is a researcher at the Faculty of Sciences, University of Lisbon, Portugal. Mafalda’s research focuses on the development of approaches to improve the transfer of scientific knowledge to non-scientific audiences. Her goal is to contribute to a knowledge-based society, a vital step towards sustainable coastal and sediment management.
• Ms Jasmina Obhođaš of the Ruđer Bošković Institute in Croatia. The Ruđer Bošković Institute (RBI) is a national centre for the natural sciences research . Together with her colleagues, Jasmina has founded the Laboratory for Nuclear Analytical Methods (LNAM) in 2009. The LNAM researchers have great experience in the development, integration and testing of the nuclear and atomic technologies in various fields including environmental monitoring.
  Participation in the SedNet network helps sharing of knowledge with other stakeholders.
  Jasmina looks forward to participating in discussions/initiatives on sediment quality, effects of remedial measures, climate change effects, sediments as a resource, establishing a European Atlas of Coastal Sediments, and deep sea sediment research.

10^th SedNet Conference 14-17 June 2017
with free pre-conference sessions by several European projects on 13 June 2017

The 10^th International SedNet conference “Sediments on the Move” will be held in Genoa, 14-17 June 2017.  The event is co-organised/hosted by the University of Genoa/DISTAV and the Port of Genoa Authority.

Conference topics are:

• Sediments moving to land, and soil moving to water
• Sediment balance
• Using sediments as a resource – Sediments in a circular economy
• Policy for sediment management: Finding the balance; “everything is contaminated”
• Climate change; PIANC and SedNet Think Climate! ensure safe and sustainable development?
• Sediment quality
• Sediment quality criteria: derivation, implementation and enforcement
• Effects of remedial measures
• Innovative maintenance of river-delta-sea systems
• Disposal of sediments at sea
• Transboundary sediments

The Call for Abstract will be published by the end of September.

In Memoriam Remi Laane (1949-2016)

It is with great sadness to announce that we have lost Prof. dr. R.W.P.M (Remi) Laane on May 31^st this year.
Remi was one of the founding fathers of SedNet.
The idea to start SedNet emerged from a sediment workshop organized in April 2000 at the GKSS Research Centre, in Geesthacht, Germany¹. Remi was one of the workshop participants and immediately, when the idea was raised, it met Remi’s full interest. Very much due to Remi’s enthusiasm, convincing power and support, the idea could mature into a successful proposal to the European Commission for a 3-year project (2002-2004) with the aim to set up a European Sediment Network, i.e. SedNet.
In those days Remi was working as a marine expert at the Dutch, National Institute for Coastal and Marine Management (RIKZ). This institute merged in 2008 with others into the new, independent applied research institute Deltares. Here he continued working till his retirement, amongst others as an affiliate professor at the University of Amsterdam, holding a special chair in Marine Biogeochemistry.
When the SedNet project kicked-off, he put Joop Bakker – one of his younger RIKZ colleagues – at the front to participate in the project. But Joop was always fully backed-up by Remi’s on-going support and wisdom. This typically demonstrates how we will remember Remi: always recognizing and supporting good ideas, but not having to be in the lead to receive the credits. Rather giving his younger colleagues the opportunity to ‘shine’. That is what we will sadly miss.
¹ GKSS workshop reference: https://sednet.org/download/Science_workshop_April_2000_(POR_II).pdf

2^nd International Conference on Deriving Environmental Quality Standards for the Protection of Aquatic Ecosystems (EQSPAE – 2016)

From 18 to 20^th June 2016 the Hong Kong University and the Swire Institute of Marine Science organized the 2^nd International Conference on Deriving Environmental Quality Standards for the Protection of Aquatic Ecosystems (EQSPAE – 2016). The conference brought together scientists and environmental practitioners from government, academia and private sector to discuss on the latest developments in the science and methodology for deriving generic and site-specific environmental quality benchmarks as well as advancements in their related policy and application for water quality management in different parts of the world. The program included a one day workshop on derivation and application of sediment quality guidelines and a two days conference with talks and poster presentations dedicated to both the water and sediment compartment. More information is available at the conference website: http://www.biosch.hku.hk/eqspae/

West African coast struggling with coastal erosion

Deltares is working on the quantification of the large-scale coastal sediment budget of four countries in West Africa: Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo and Benin. The main objective of the study is to quantify natural sediment transport patterns and the potential effects of major human interventions and climate change on the sediment budget and consequent shoreline changes.

Coastal erosion at Baguida beach (Togo)

The coast of West Africa consists of a narrow low-lying coastal strip maintained by sediment from rivers that is transported along the coast by waves and currents like a “sand river”. The coastal areas are home to 31% of the region’s population — which is growing at a rate of four percent annually. The coast also accounts for 56% of the region’s GDP. Today, however, much of the fluvial sand flow is blocked by river dams and/or interrupted at several locations by harbour jetties. The sandy coastal barrier is therefore eroding almost everywhere; the situation is already critical and it is likely to degenerate in the future due to climate change.
According to the Deltares project leader Alessio Giardino, the study is unique for a number of reasons. “First of all, the quantification of the large sediment budget, with one consistent set of numerical models, will make it possible to overcome the fragmentation of information between different countries. This large-scale study will also allow for the assessment of the implications of action in one country for neighbouring countries. Finally, sharing information and creating awareness are key to the success of a project of this kind and so the main output from the project will be shared in a number of consultation and validation workshops. The output will also be made publicly available in an on-line viewer and brochure backed up by a more technical report.”
The project is part of the World Bank’s West Africa Coastal Areas Program (WACA), a convening platform that aims to help countries obtain financing and expertise to sustainably manage their coastal areas. The program was established in 2015 in response to requests from West African countries to manage coastal erosion and flooding, promote climate-resilient coastal management and improve livelihoods of West Africa’s coastal communities.

Offshore wave roses for the entire coastline of West Africa as calculated by the overall SWAN model

Contact persons Deltares: Alessio Giardino  and Christophe Briere

Contact person (The World Bank): Miguel Toquica

Sand tracking study for Mississippi Gulf Coast Beach Management

Partrac have been assisting academic staff and researchers from Mississippi State University to implement a beach sediment tracking study on Deer Island, Mississippi , the closest barrier island to the Mississippi Gulf Coast.
The study was commissioned and funded by the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources’ (DMR) Mississippi Tidelands Trust Fund Program. It is being undertaken to examine and better understand pathways of alongshore sediment transport, the rate of movement, and predominant direction on the foreshore of the sensitive Deer Island Mississippi Coastal Preserve, which is an official DMR Gulf Ecological Management Site (GEMS).
Dr Anna Linhoss of MSU’s hydroecology laboratory leading the study commented, “The study is being conducted as part of a wider effort to improve our understanding of sand erosion and deposition in the MS Gulf Coast. We are undertaking this initial sand tracking study for the purposes of model calibration and validation, and to feed into the wider objective of restoring the integrity of the sand transport system along the region’s coastline.”
Partrac’s role in the project was to assist with study design, deployment of their proprietary dual signature tracer material at the site, and subsequent sampling and analyses efforts.

Further information on this study can be obtained by contacting newcastle@partrac.com

Sustainable Port Management Delfzijl

Wiertsema & Partners together with Flanders Hydraulics Research investigated on behalf of Groningen Seaports the influence on the manoeuvrability of a vessel when sailing with a small and negative under keel clearance in the harbour of Delfzijl by performing a full scale field test. The full scale field test was performed in May 2015 during spring tide corresponding to a negative under keel clearance up to -5% UKC at low tide.
Several trials were performed during the full scale field test in the harbour entrance channel with different under keel clearances and changing from going inbound to outbound. The paper gives a summary of the full scale field test, used measuring techniques for qualifying the mud layer, an overview of interactions between involved parties and the results.
CLICK HERE for paper.

The field test is part of the overall project ‘Sustainable Port Management’ for the port of Delfzijl.
One of the primary goals of the project Sustainable Port Management is to investigate whether it is possible to optimize the tidal window of the port without a significant increase of the maintenance dredging volumes. One of the realistic approaches to increase the tidal window of the port is to implement the Keep Sediments Navigable method. This method has already been successfully applied in the port of Emden.

Seaport of Emden, Germany, reducing dredging costs by 90%

In many of the world’s largest harbors, appropriate hydrographic survey is a necessary requirement in order to keep dredging costs low. The port of Emden succeeded in reducing the dredging costs by 90% with the help of a new dredging management and hydrographic survey with the density probe admodus®USP pro.
In 1994, after many years of research, the port authority managed to maintain the fluidity of suspended sediments, which were carried into the harbor basin by the river Ems. This so called “sediment conditioning” is mainly based on the prevention of the fluid mud’s reconsolidation process by a regular treatment (recirculation). As a result, these sediments no longer have to be removed from the harbor basin and a lot of disposal costs can be saved.
Until 1994, harbor maintenance dredging at the seaport of Emden was mainly based on the costintensive removal of suspended silt. This removal was done by a cutter suction dredger.To prevent expensive shifts of this cutter suction dredger, a trailing suction hopper dredger (TSHD) was used to dump its dredged material right in front of the cutting head of the cutter suction dredger to provide a constant silt supply.

For further info contact Andreas Klockner <info@admodus.de>

Upcoming events

14-15 September 2016: 2nd European Dredging Summit, Hamburg, Germany. Details on European Dredging Summit

15-16 September 2016: Embracing Estuaries – Management of Natura 2000-Sites in Estuaries and Sea Ports, Hamburg, Germany. Organised by Stiftung Lebensraum Elbe in cooperation with the German Behörde für Umwelt und Energie. http://www.stiftung-lebensraum-elbe.de/eu-workshop.html 

19-22 September 2016: 13^th International Symposium on River Sedimentation, Stuttgart, Germany.
Held triennially since 1980; organised under the auspices of the International Research & Training Center on Erosion and Sedimentation (IRTCES).  www.isrs2016.de

19-23 September 2016: Ecosystem Services Conference 2016 EU – Helping nature to help us, Antwerp, Belgium. This conference will be the biggest European event in 2016 that links science, policy and practice on ecosystem services and natural capital, with a strong focus on practice and implementation. The conference will include nearly 70 sessions. www.esconference2016.eu

26-27 September 2016: 5th International Conference on Natural Channel Systems, Ontario, Canada. Themes: current science and understanding, applied river management and rehabilitation, governance, asset management and education. For more info see www.naturalchannels.ca

27-28 September 2016: the 9^th Rostock dredged material seminar will be held prospectively on 27 to 28 September 2016, Rostock, Germany. Documents about the previous seminar can be found at
www2.auf.uni-rostock.de/ll/baggergut/bg_orga.html

3-5 October 2016: 5th PiE Conference, Budapest, Hungary. Particle in Europe, or PiE, is a bi-annual conference on the measurement, monitoring, and managing of in situ particle size and sediment concentration in the aquatic environment. The meeting is sponsored by Sequoia and the University of Technology and Economics in Budapest, Hungary. More info on PiE-2016 Conference

19-22 October 2016: 14^th International Conference “EUROPE-INBO 2016” for the implementation of the European Water Directives, Lourdes, France. Organised by the International Network of Basin.  www.inbo-news.org

6-7 October 2016: International Magdeburger Seminar on River Protection, to be held in in the city of Dresden, Germany. Main topics will be urban waters and its management. www.ikse-mkol.org

2017

9-12 January 2017: Battelle – Ninth International Conference on Remediation of Contaminated Sediments, New Orleans, Louisiana. More information at the conference website.

26-28 February 2017: International Conference on Sedimentology and Petroleum Geology (SPG 2017), Sanya, China Call for speakers is open now. www.engii.org/conf/SPG/2017Feb/

27-28 March 2017: Navigating a Changing Climate, Brussels, Belgium. An international conference exploring the implications of climate change for waterborne transport infrastructure. See pre-announcement on Newsletter Think Climate

7-11 May 2017: SETAC Europe 27th Annual Meeting, Brussels, Belgium. Event of the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry. Info on SETAC Europe 2017

21-26 May 2017: 14th International Symposium on the Interactions between Sediments and Water, Taormina, Italy, organized by the International Association for Sediment Water Science (IASWS).  Full details are available on the conference website. Selected papers presented at the conference will be published in a Special Issue of the Journal of Soils and Sediments.

14-17 June 2017: 10th International SedNet Conference, co-organised and hosted by University of Genoa/DISTAV and the Port of Genoa Authority. Call for Abstracts will open in September.  www.sednet.org

26-30 June 2017: AquaConSoil 2017, Lyon, France. 14th International Conference on Sustainable Use and Management of Soil, Sediment and Water Resources. Call for abstracts is open now. Deadline for submission is 15 November 2016. www.aquaconsoil.org

Disseminated by: 

SedNet secretariat:
Mrs. Marjan Euser
Deltares
P.O. Box 85467
NL-3508 AL Utrecht
The Netherlands

Email marjan.euser@deltares.nl

Website: www.sednet.org
Compiled by: Marjan Euser (marjan.euser@tno.nl)
Subscription Service: SedNet Secretariat (marjan.euser@tno.nl)
Disclaimer: SedNet is not responsible for faults due to incorrectness of info in this newsletter
Previous issues: www.sednet.org

CONTENTS

SedNet conference on 7-9 October 2009, Hamburg, Germany
The Role of Sediments in Coastal Management

The The issue of Sediment Management is rising on the European agenda. Sediment topics will be an element of River Basin Management Plans to be published in 2009 under the Water Framework Directive. Sediment Management is also an important part of the work of a European Working Group on Estuary Management, organised by DG Environment of the EU Commission. Furthermore, sediments are explicitly mentioned in new EU legislation, like the Directive on Environmental Quality Standards in the field of water policy, the Marine Strategy Directive, and the Waste Directive.
In Europe the largest amounts of sediments have to be dredged in the North Sea region, where the natural sediment regime in the sea leads to high sedimentation in ports, harbours and waterways. Additionally, sediments gain in importance due to sea level rise and loss of fine grained sediments in the Wadden Sea.
On this background SedNet organised its 6th International two-day Conference on Sediment Management in the city of Hamburg to which 150 sediment experts participated.
In Hamburg ongoing river restoration challenges coincide with dredging needs and sediments play a central role. The region is a good example to discuss cross-cutting science-policy issues.
At the beginning of the conference a report was given from the SedNet Round Table Discussion on “Implementation of sediment management issues into the first RBM Plans”.
On day 3, the day after the conference, a Special Session with the title “Managing the Elbe Estuary” was held, covering local challenges and solutions in sediment management.
A poster session formed part of the program during 7-8 October. Springer and the Journal of Soils and Sediments were sponsoring a prize for the best poster. The prize consisted of 250 Euros of Springer books and a free online subscription to the Journal of Soils and Sediments.
The winning poster was “Measurement and modeling of polychlorinated biphenyl bioaccumulation from sediment for a marine polychaete and response to sorbent amendment” by Elisabeth Janssen, Stanford University, USA.
On the website – www.sednet.org – you will find the abstracts and slides of the presentations.

SedNet conference 2009: Session “Report and Key-note presentations”
The conference was opened by Axel Netzband, Chairman of SedNet, and Jens Meier, managing director of the Hamburg Port Authority as co-organiser of the conference.
It was followed be a report from the SedNet Round Table Discussion “Implementation of sediment management issues into the first RBM Plans”, given by Piet den Besten, SedNet Steering Group.
(see separate article further down in this newsletter).

The title of the presentation of Francois Kremer, European Commission / DG Environment was “Natura 2000 and estuaries”. Estuaries and coastal zones are among the most productive ecosystems of the world, with both high ecological and economic values. As Natura 2000 sites they are subject to the protection regimes under the ‘Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC) and/or the ‘Wild Birds Directive’ (79/409/EEC). Inevitably there will be occasions where port and waterways developments and Natura 2000 conservation objectives collide. The directives lay down procedures for ensuring that such developments are done in a sustainable way that is compatible with the conservation of species and natural habitats for which the Natura 2000 sites have been designated.
Since now more than two years the European Commission has been working with stakeholder organisations and environmental NGOs with a view to developing guidelines and recommendations on the implementation of the EU nature legislation in estuaries and coastal zones and for avoiding conflicts between Natura 2000 objectives and economic development needs. Human activities in estuaries include ports & navigation, dredging, sand mining, fisheries, industry, wind farms, flood protection, recreation, urbanism, etc.
Mr. Kremer acknowledged the concept of ‘Working with nature’ of PIANC, the World Association for Water borne Transport Infrastructure. The concept has a focus on achieving project objectives in an ecosystem context rather than assessing consequences of a pre-defined design (-> integrated management) and on identifying win-win solutions rather than simply minimising ecological harm (-> partnership).
So the title of the next presentation “Building with nature” of Martin Scholten, IMARES, The Netherlands, fit perfectly well. EcoShape is a Dutch National Innovation Programme for the time period 2008-2012, partners are from both science, industry, and administration. The main objectives are to develop scientifically sound design rules and norms enabling ‘building with nature’ using practical examples.
Mr. Scholten reported about a shift towards an ecosystem based approach: Ecodesign based on the natural dynamics. It means a turn around from a defensive approach to minimize environmental impacts to an offensive approach in order to optimize full economic and ecologic potential. This means to design a project on the basis of understanding the ecosystem dynamics and functioning as well as on the understanding of ambitions, opinions, concerns and discourse amongst stakeholders in the social system.
A project should be planned in coherence with other functions, such as coastal defence, aquaculture, sand and gravel extraction, land reclamation, nature development or restoration, etc. In the planning it should be determined how natural processes can be used and stimulated to achieve the goals. Project execution should give room for adaptation of the project.

SedNet conference 2009: Session “Conceptual approaches”
The SedNet Roundtable that preceded the Conference recognized the need of developing conceptual models of sediment fluxes and contaminant transport to provide a better understanding of the system. In this respect the session on conceptual approaches provided a good overview of actions taken in Canada and UK to create a basis for sustainable sediment management.
Suzan Roe presented the assessment and management framework of sediments in Canadian waters, which is currently under development by the Canadian federal government in cooperation with provincial governments. The aim is to incorporate into the framework the elements of existing assessment and management tools. Within the framework, sediment quality guidelines may be adjusted to account for intended use (i.e., in cases of pollution prevention, a high level of protection is desired while for remediation of contaminated sites, a clean-up target that will help restore ecological function is required).
Kevin Black informed on a management framework that will provide stakeholders in UK with guidelines for the management of contaminated marine sediments in UK waters. The framework will collect information on all relevant data, liability issues, impacts of legislation, pollution prevention methods, contaminated sediments disposal options and future research areas. The implementation of the framework in the UK ports and harbours will reflect the principles of sustainable environmental management.
Sediment risk ranking and management framework and tool development and evaluation was presented by Susan Casper. Adapting DPSIR-based sediment models developed for a number of catchments and a sediment-specific adaptation of the relative risk model, a generic framework is under development in UK to support decision-making in deriving a catchment sediment management plan. This includes evaluation of measures for reducing risk to catchment management objectives in support of the WFD.
Sabine Apitz discussed different aspects of building a decision framework for management of a dredged material in light of a specific scientific and political situation. Various factors influencing the decision framework performance such as chemical action levels, selection of biotests, combination of data and tests and reference conditions changes were addressed.

SedNet conference 2009: Session “Management and Policy”
The session on Management and Policy began with a keynote of Beate Ratter (University of Hamburg / GKSS, Germany) on people’s perception of natural hazards. Beate Ratter concentrated on coastal geoharzards and here especially on the storm surge that hit Hamburg in 1962. For a hundred years (1855–1962) there had not been an extreme flood event. Subsequently, people were little aware of that risk, and the city was unprepared to fight the water and to protect its people. Since today, the flood of 1962 is well imprinted on people’s minds even though there have been higher water levels since then which – due to higher dikes – did not do much damage. Only recently, an extensive new urban area, the “HafenCity” (harbour city) has been allowed to be built in the Hamburg port area – at the water front.
The keynote was followed by a presentation of Amy Oen (NGI, Norway) which continued along the line of public risk perception. Giving details on a controversial sediment management disposal site in Oslo harbour, Amy demonstrated the importance of including the public and addressing its perception in making decisions on sediment management options. Conclusions have been drawn from the challenges, that the process in Oslo had to face, and consequences for coming remediation projects in e.g. Bergen include the establishment of a stakeholder panel early in the process and transparent multicriteria decision making to identify potential remediation alternatives. (Presentation: “Sediment and Society: assessing approaches for including stakeholder interests and contaminated sediment management”).
The next talk by Andrea Barbanti (Thetis SpA, Italy) also demonstrated experiences and lessons learned from former activities, in this case sediment management in the Venice lagoon (“The sediment management issue in the Venice lagoon: lessons learned and future perspectives”). Andrea focussed in his talk on the challenge to connect science and policy making with the final goal of having scientifically sound management solutions. His major criticism being that the technical protocol used for assessing dredged material is outdated and should have been revised for quite some time. He gave conceptual, technical, and administrative recommendations on what to change but clarified the present limitations and difficulties. He concluded that more sustainable and holistic approaches with an updated scientific base would be needed in order to come up with an improved sediment management concept that would help to preserve and restore coastal ecosystems such as the Venice lagoon in future.
Jos Brils (Deltares, the Netherlands) ended this session describing “The EU environmental policy shift towards sustaining of ecosystem services and its possible implications for sediment management”. Jos demonstrated the shift from conservation of single species in the 1970s to preservation of ecosystem services which we know today to be – together with the protection of biodiversity – the core of EU environmental policy. He stated that so far application of the underlying concepts has been scarce – especially for sediment management issues. Often the matrices sediment, soil and water all contribute to specific ecosystem services complicating the issue. A way forward would be to carry out a comparative analysis of projects and real world cases concerned with these topics in order to extract from there a practical guidance to facilitate implementation of the EU environmental policies.

SedNet conference 2009: Session “Risk and Monitoring”
The session started with a presentation of Oscar van Dam focusing on hydro morphological challenges in the WFD and the link to sediments. Both quantity and quality of sediments are closely interfering with hydro morphological conditions and thus with the ecological potential of a water body. Sediments are an essential part of hydro morphological monitoring but the way that it is included differs a lot and should be improved if the data needs to support the implementation and evaluation of a program of measures. Typical measures, which are clearly linked to sediment as part of the hydromorphology, are dredging activities and the creation of new habitats by sand suppletion.
Monitoring the ecotoxicological risk of sediments is not incorporated in the WFD, but several other international guidelines focusing on dredged material emphasise the importance of ecotoxicological testing of the sediments in addition to chemical, physical and biological characterization as was shown by Carolin Floeter. However the results of the ecotoxicological sediment assessment in the Port of Hamburg that was carried so far was linked with high uncertainty. The results showed high variability and the classification itself was based on the result of the most sensitive test, irrespective of the results of the other tests. Therefore a new concept is under construction in which the ecotoxicological risk assessment is better harmonised and validated.
Birgit Schubert gave an overview of chemical monitoring of sediments and suspended solids in estuarine environments in Germany. This monitoring is mainly carried out in function of dredging activities and to study the transport of fine particulate matter. The results showed clearly that sediment quality is improving in the estuary in downstream direction, but also that recently deposited sediments are containing lower concentrations of metals such as cadmium. This can be explained by an increased upstream transport of marine particulate matter into the estuary but also due to the fact that the suspended solids coming from upstream river basins are less contaminated.
Transport of contaminated sediments was also the focus of the presentation of Jos Van Gils. It was shown that due to the mixing of cleaner marine suspended solids with contaminated freshwater suspended solids in the estuarine environments, net fluxes of contaminants to the North Sea are overestimated if these take not into account this mixing. It was shown also that achieving the Water Quality Objectives (WQO) for priority pollutants in coastal waters in 2015 or even 2027 can only be successful when the transport of contaminated suspended solids and the exchange of contaminants between water, suspended solids and the sediment is considered. This was clearly shown by the timeframe that TBT concentrations are exceeding the WQO in the years after 2008 when the application of TBT containing antifouling paints is. Exceedence will occur much longer due to the interaction between the water and the sediment.

SedNet conference 2009: Session “Sediment Management”
This session comprised of four talks. It started with a key-note presentation given by Giovanni Cecconi who considered the role of sediments as a fundamental resource in coastal areas, especially in systems affected by sea level rise and erosion. Based on the results of works conducted in the Venice lagoon during more than twenty years he demonstrated that wind, wave and tide driven sediments can settle and be stabilized by stimulating natural processes creating a variety of structuring and self-preserving habitats, such as beaches, dunes, salt marshes, eel-grass prairies, and inter-tidal flats. The second presentation by Yves M.G. Plancke focussed on the morphological management of the Western Scheldt. The concept developed by an expert team from the Antwerp Port Authority aims both at improving the morphological status of the estuary and at reducing the quantity of dredged material. Since 2002 the new strategy is being investigated a pilot project on the Walsoorden sandbar. The present results are promising both in terms of economy and ecology. The following presentation was given by Gunnel Göransson. She emphasised the role of extreme events, partly caused by climate changes, and their impact on the risk for mass failure. How prepared are we to meet such events? Based on the climate change scenarios for the Swedish west coast, calculations clearly indicate an increase in the risk for mass failure of sediment. Possible hydraulic effects as well as effects to the water quality have to be considered, which in term may have consequences for a variety of uses. Tools are needed to manage such events of low frequency but high magnitude. In his last presentation, Renaat de Sutter dealt with climate change and socio-economic impacts on the long-term sediment balance in the Belgian part of the North Sea. Preliminary results of two ongoing projects were presented. The one project aims at differentiating the anthropogenic climate change effects from the natural evolution at the North Sea scale. The other focuses on sedimentation/erosion processes on different scales both in terms of geography and time.

SedNet conference 2009: Session “Sediment Balance and Transport”
This session comprised of 3 presentations.
The first presentation by Jens Laugesen dealt with the use of tracer particles as a new technique to monitor and quantify transport of contaminated sediments. This was tested in two studies in Norway. These studies show that it is a promising technology. The method needs however a large amount of sediment samples which have to be analysed for tracer particles to be able to give good results. A further refinement of the technology is necessary.
The second presentation by Sabine Gerbersdorf focussed on biological engineering and its consequences for sediment stability and floc entrainment and transport. The study shows that bacterial assemblages cannot be neglected when considering mircrobial sediment stabilization and secondly, that a change in abiotic conditions can affect their stabilization potential significantly. This is of particular importance when considering the expected changes due to climate change in the future. Next to this the characteristics of the eroded flocs have shown distinct patterns depending on the biological origin, with severe consequences to sediment transport and –deposition.
The last presentation by Benjamin Dewals showed a modelling system, handling the wide range of time scales involved in sediment transport processes. It described a modelling system dedicated to depth-averaged simulations of flow and sediment transport, as support for sustainable management of sediments. As a result of the flexibility offered in the levels of coupling between flow and sediment transport models, stable and accurate numerical solutions are obtained for predictions of erosion and sedimentation patterns in the short, medium or long term, considering both bed load and suspended load.

SedNet conference 2009: Special Session “Managing the Elbe Estuary”
In a Special Session “Managing the Elbe Estuary” on Friday, 9th October 2009, participants of the SedNet conference were invited to learn about the tidal Elbe and its environmental and economic importance for the port of Hamburg. Comprehensive maintenance operation for a safe navigation and environmental protection of the sensitive natural habitats along the 100km long tidal Elbe is a challenging task for all involved stakeholders. The related management concepts and their diverse aspects were the key issues of this special session which was attended by 75 participants.
Heinz Glindemann from Hamburg Port Authority held an illustrative introductory speech on challenges and visions affiliated with the Elbe estuary from a user’s perspective. Hydrodynamic changes during the past decades claim permanent attention to the Elbe estuary and the port of Hamburg, especially in terms of water level and sediment management. As part of his speech Heinz Glindemann introduced the “Tideelbe” concept which combines the elements (1) attenuation of the tidal energy through river engineering, (2) implementation of more tidal volume and (3) an optimized sediment management of the river. New measures such as the pilot project “Spadenlander Busch” were presented to demonstrate the possibility for improving the hydrological situation of the river Elbe through new tidal areas within the city of Hamburg (www.tideelbe.de).
The following presentation by Harro Heier from the Federal Waterways Engineering and Research Institute (BAW) articulated the need for tools to improve the predictability of river basin processes and sediment management strategies, especially under consideration of future tasks such as the sealevel rise because of climate change. Due to Harro Heyer this could be achieved through the analysis of more tidal parameters on the basis of mathematical model results.
An overview on the Natura 2000 managementplan for the Elbe estuary was given by Elisabeth Klocke, Ministry for Urban Development and Environment, Hamburg.
The crucial issue of sediment management within the area of Hamburg and its harbor was shown in respect of relating environmental issues. An integrated concept including the steady adjustment of the relocation strategy and monitoring scheme in reconciliation with environmental administrations and NGOs was suggested.
Sediment management measures in the port of Hamburg were presented by Claudia Flecken, head of the division Port Infrastructure, Hamburg Port Authority. The presentation clarified, that dredging operation is a key element for guaranteeing safe navigation in the port of Hamburg. Hamburg Port Authority implemented a land treatment concept which includes operation of the METHA, the largest treatment plant for dredged material worldwide.
Finally participants of the Elbe Session were given the opportunity to visit the METHA plant and the Francop land disposal site for sediments. The fieldtrip was accompanied by presentations of Heinz-Dieter Detzner (Overview), Ulrich Döring (METHA) and Hubert Urich (Francop land treatment).

SedNet Round Table Discussion
on River Basin Sediment Management

Linked to the Hamburg SedNet Conference, a Round Table discussion was held 6 and 7 October 2009. This Round Table discussion built on the results of the SedNet Round Table Discussion on River Basin Sediment Management held in Venice in 2006 (see/roundtable). In the SedNet e-newsletter special on river basin management plans (spring 2009 – see our website – pdf) the SedNet steering group concluded: “These few pages on WFD compliant River Basin Management and sediment management show a great variety. The river basins are different in size and challenges, and the solutions are as diverse as the recognition of sediments in the plans is.”

On this background SedNet organised another Round Table discussion preceding the Hamburg conference. The goal was to discuss the position of sediment management in water management and in regional or local developments and to explore new pathways to effectively link sediment management initiatives to RBMP’s.

The invited participants represented river commissions, governmental bodies, water agencies, port authorities, research institutes, consultancies, NGO’s, etc. Rivers represented where Douro, Ebro, Danube, Sava, Drava/Mura, Elbe, Rhine, Scheldt and Thames. The program of the Round Table was based on the outcome of a questionnaire sent earlier to the participants and an illustrative river basin case. During two days, a large number of topics were covered: holistic system understanding, dealing with uncertainty, better linkage of sediment management to WFD objectives or to other plans, communication (especially about the link between sediments and ecosystem integrity), stakeholder involvement and ecosystem services as a model to help the stakeholder process.

A report about the outcome of the Round Table discussion will be prepared and is intended to be available spring next year. It is also thought to be base for the development of a guidance document that should explain how to include sediment management in River Basin Management Plans, with examples that demonstrate how sediment management makes RBM more effective.

Sediments in river basins
From the perspective of SedNet, the European Sediment Network

Published in the Journal of Soils and Sediments: Volume 9, Issue 5 (2009), Page 393.

Introduction
Since its foundation in 2002, it has been the aim of SedNet, the European Sediment Network, to communicate on the importance of sediments at both the scientific and the political level. The unusual but beneficial property of SedNet is that, in the steering group, scientists work alongside harbour managers and representatives of environment administrations, which results in sometimes necessarily controversial, but always constructive discussions. With the round table event in Venice in 2007, we facilitated an exchange amongst stakeholders from a number of European rivers on the integration of sediment-related issues into River Basin Management Plans (RBMP), as required by the Water Framework Directive (WFD). In 2009, we organize another round table in order to examine recent experiences with regard to addressing sediment issues at the river basin scale.
In the interim, in May 2008, a conference was held in Oslo, Norway, which focused on experiences and scientific assessments of sediment management issues at local and river basin scales. The major conclusions from this conference can be viewed at/events/sednet-conference-2008/. A short introduction to the conference was presented by Förstner and Heinrich (2009), and a special issue on the Norwegian cases addressed at the conference will be published in Journal of Soils and Sediments in 2010.
Why then this article? As all presentations and abstracts can be downloaded from /library/sednet-conference-5/, we will not summarize each presentation. Instead, with this article, we would like to draw the conclusions from the individual sessions further and put them into the perspective of the scientific and political discussion 1 year after the conference.

Full article available on SpringerLink.

Sediment Management Plan Rhine – Summary

In 2005, analysis of dredged material from the Upper Rhine indicated a too high degree of sediment contamination. Thus, in 2005 a coordinated sediment management plan for the Rhine was commissioned. The result we now dispose of is the first plan for an international river basin district giving a global survey of the contamination of sediments in the main stream of the Rhine and in its main tributaries.
The sediment management plan for the Rhine is based on the following classification:
(1) In a first step, the most important contaminants and the areas polluted by them were identified.
(2) In a second step, sedimentation areas with more than 1000 m³ of contaminated sediments were identified. These sedimentation areas are called „areas of concern“, if there is no natural or man-made risk of re-mobilisation.
(3) In a third step it was investigated, in how far a re-mobilisation of contaminated sediments is liable to detrimentally impact the good status of water bodies further downstream. For these investigations, the assessment of the risk of re-mobilisation due to floods, wind, and anthropogenic impacts (dredging, navigation) plays an important role. In cases of considerable contamination and great amounts of sediments liable to be re-mobilised the area is classified as area presenting a risk.
18 of the 93 analysed sedimentation areas have been classified as „areas of concern“, 22 as areas presenting a risk. For areas presenting a risk, decontamination measures will be presented while it is recommended to intensively monitor the “areas of concern”.
The summary can be dowloaded here.

We will NOT achieve the WFD objectives

TThis is likely to remain reality unless we boost our ambition and boost our willingness to learn-by-doing. In its final events in Brussels (16 November) and Mechelen (17 & 18 November) the EC FP6 project RISKBASE advocated that the actual improvement of the ecological quality of our river basins, and thus sustaining of the ecosystem services they provide, calls for a different approach to river basin management. This approach involves the integrated application of the three key-principles to risk-based management: informed, adaptive and participatory.

Informed: a sound understanding of the functioning of the natural soil-sediment-water system and of its interaction with the social system is the basis to river basin management. EC projects, like FP6 AquaTerra and Modelkey, have delivered new, natural system understanding, relevant to support the achievement of the WFD objectives. They identified not yet (1st RBMPs) addressed sources of risk and deliver knowledge for improving of the effectiveness of measures. AquaTerra demonstrated, for example, that contaminated ground water hinders good status achievement of surface water and that flooding mobilizes historic contamination from floodplain soils and river bottom sediments, thus hindering status achievement. A remaining and ongoing challenge is to connect this new science to management and policy making.

Adaptive: we have to learn-by-doing as social/natural systems are extremely complex and dynamic and can respond in non-linear and unexpected ways.

Participatory: involvement of stakeholders will improve management, e.g. because they may bring in local knowledge. However, involvement of stakeholders calls for the use of a common language to enable participation. RISKBASE believes that the ‘ecosystem services’ approach provides that language.

RISKBASE has observed that leading initiatives, like the management of the Llonsko-Polje catchment (part of the Sava basin in Croatia), already demonstrate some of these aspects. However, more well coordinated and monitored pilot projects (aimed at stepwise improving of the effectiveness of measures) are needed to transform our general framing and develop best practice. The WFD also demands that we learn from the experiences in the 1st RBMP. In WFD, annex VII (page 67) it is stated: “The first update of the river basin management plan and all subsequent updates shall also include: … an assessment of the progress made towards the achievement of the environmental objectives, … and an explanation for any environmental objectives which have not been reached.”

By the end of 2009 a brochure/booklet will be made available via the RISKBASE website in which the key-messages are further elucidated. The more detailed motivation and duly scientific underpinning of the key-messages can be found in a scientific book that will be published by Springer next year. For more information, please visit the RISKBASE website or contact the RISKBASE coordinator: Jos Brils, email:jos.brils@deltares.nl

LOICZ Report: Dynamics and Vulnerability of Delta Systems

The LOICZ report entitled “Dynamics and Vulnerability of Delta Systems” discusses the changes and vulnerabilities of world deltas resulting from anthropogenic alteration of upstream freshwater and sediment inflows; anthropogenic alteration of sediment and water routing through deltas; hydrocarbon and groundwater extraction from deltas; sea-level change; and the increased frequency of extreme climate events. Download here (pdf).

CHR UNESCO ISI Rhine sediment report

ThRecently published: “Erosion, Transport and Deposition of Sediment – Case Study Rhine”.

Full reference
CHR, 2009. Erosion, Transport and Deposition of Sediment – Case Study Rhine. Spreafico M., Lehmann C. (Eds.). Contribution to the International Sediment Initiative of UNESCO/IHP. Report no II-20 of the International Commission for the Hydrology of the Rhine Basin (CHR). ISBN 978-90-70980-34-4.
The report can be ordered or downloaded via this link (scroll down to II-20).

Risks from cohesive sediments under projected climate change

SProjected climatic conditions for Germany may favour both increased flood frequencies and severities, which in return may lead to a re-mobilisation of contaminated sediments in rivers. The research project „Risks from cohesive sediments“ is part of the recently established research program KLIWAS (2009-2013) by the German Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Urban Affairs. The project aims to develop tools for estimating and mitigating risks from cohesive sediments by an integrated research approach that combines the expertise of the scientific fields of environmental chemistry and hydraulic engineering. The research area covers the Rhine and Elbe catchments. The Upper Rhine has been identified as an “area of risk“ by the International Commission for The Protection of the Rhine because of historic hexachlorobenzene contaminations. Similarly, the Mid-Elbe is focussed on because of heavy metal and PCB pollution.
The methodology comprises laboratory sorption experiments for deriving basic physico-chemical parameters of pollutants, time-continuous, in-situ measurements of suspended matter based on turbidity as well as acoustic backscatter, and the application of various hydraulic transport models (HT-models) within a model cascade. Regional climate projections are used within KLIWAS as input for hydrologic catchment models to produce runoff and water level data. This output is then used to run different HT-models on various scales. The 3D-model SSIIM is employed for small-scale simulation of the Upper Rhine impoundments to estimate re-suspension and sedimentation of hexachlorobenzene. The MIKE software suite is used for modelling the Mid-Elbe including the complex interaction of the open stream and groyne fields. Finally, the SOBEK River model that was developed by DELTARES is used for long term, meso-scale simulations of particle bound contaminant transport. The work is conducted in close collaboration with environmental agencies, research centers, and universities; e.g. the Elbe modelling is conducted by the Hamburg University of Applied Sciences. The project contributes to a fundamental understanding of river systems that is essential for successful river sediment management.

Contact
T. Pohlert, G. Hillebrand, V. Breitung, S. Vollmer
Federal Institute of Hydrology (BfG), Am Mainzer Tor 1, PO Box 200253,
D-56002 Koblenz, Germany
Email: pohlert@bafg.de

German Working group on “Sediments and Water Quality”

PThe Gesellschaft Deutscher Chemiker (GDCh) is the largest chemical society in continental Europe with members from academe, industry and other areas. The society was founded in 1949 but builds on a long tradition that began in 1867 when its first predecessor organization, the Deutsche Chemische Gesellschaft was founded in Berlin. The work of the society is structured by divisions and working groups, among them the Waterchemical Society. Under the umbrella of the Waterchemical Society in 2002 a working group on “Sediments and Water quality” was established. The recent meeting of this group was held in November 2009 in Frankfurt/Main. One of the topics dealt with the role of stable isotopes in following sediment dynamics.

Stable isotopes as natural tracers for river and sediment dynamics
Stable isotopes ratios of water (¹⁸O/¹⁶O, D/H) and carbon (¹³C/¹²C of dissolved inorganic, and particulate as well as dissolved organic carbon) were analysed in various river systems including the St. Lawrence (Canada) and the Lagan River (N. Ireland) and the Elbe River in Germany. For instance, mass balances calculations with stable water isotopes helped to outline the relative importance of water masses in an ecologically important embayment in the St. Lawrence River. It showed that despite inland influxes of a small stream and groundwater input, the main channel of the St. Lawrence had a strong influence on this ecosystem most times of the year. This has important implications for transport of chemical goods on the main channel. Discrepancies between stable isotope ratios of dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) and particulate organic carbon (POC) showed that most of the suspended sediment carbon was generated inside the St. Lawrence River through phytoplankton activity. In a similar manner such mass balances showed contributions for estuarine and inland river water as well fluxes as groundwater in the Elbe River (Germany) during the millenium flood in 2002. In another study on the Lagan River in Northern Ireland a noticeable influence of carbonates on the dissolved load of inorganic carbon could be demonstrated via stable carbon isotope analyses. Further differentiation between photosynthetic enrichment in ¹³C of the DIC might be outlined with stable isotope analyses of dissolved oxygen. The presented studies show that stable isotopes are ideal biogeochemical tracers to quantify exchanges of water masses as well as turnover of carbon in rivers and suspended and bottom sediments. Such techniques can further apply to German rivers with particular focus on smaller river systems that have more potential to clearly outline endmembers of influence.

Contact
Professor Johannes Barth, PhD
Lehrstuhl für Angewandte Geologie, GeoZentrum Nordbayern,
Schlossgarten 5, D- 91054 Erlangen / Germany
Email: barth@geol.uni-erlangen.de

Terra et Aqua

Terra et Aqua Is a free magasin published by the International Association of Dredging Companies. Sediment experts can find regularly interesting articles in the magazine.

Please click link below to download Terra et Aqua 115:
http://www.terra-et-aqua.com/dmdocuments/terra116_complete.pdf

Sinking deltas could increase risk of flooding worldwide
(From DG Environment’s News Alert Service)

73 per cent of the world’s 33 major river deltas are sinking, according to new research. Results indicate that the sinking is worsened by the impacts of human activity, such as upstream sediment collection caused by reservoirs, dams, accelerated sediment compaction, and control of river channels.

About 500 million people live in or near river deltas, which are formed when rivers deposit sediment as they flow into the sea. The 2007 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change¹ report concluded that many deltas will experience sea level rises due to climate change. The effects of twentieth century development and population growth will also increase the risk of deltas flooding. The EU’s Floods Directive aims to assess and manage areas at risk of flooding, including coast lines².

The research analysed high resolution satellite data, historical maps and infrared images of 33 world river deltas. Four of these were EU deltas, in Italy, France, Poland and Romania. The results indicated that 85 per cent of deltas experienced severe flooding in the past decade, causing 260,000 km2 of land to be temporarily submerged.

The study investigated the possible role of compaction of sediment in the increase in flooding, particularly compaction caused by human activities, such as removal of gas and water, trapping of sediments upstream in reservoirs and floodplain engineering. For example, the Po Delta in Italy subsided 3.7 metres in the twentieth century; 81 per cent of this is attributed to methane mining. This research is the first to estimate the volume of sediment delivered to the deltas both before and after substantial human activity.

The results demonstrated that sediment delivery has been reduced or eliminated at the majority of the deltas. Much of this can be attributed to upstream damming, e.g. in the Ganges (India) and the Mekong (Vietnam). Another factor is the reduction in the number of side channels. The number of distributary channels has dropped for 13 of the major deltas, including the Vistula (Poland) and the Nile (Egypt) which both suffered a 70 to 80 per cent reduction in distributary channels.

This reduction in sediment delivery has caused deltas to sink and makes them more vulnerable to flooding from sea level rises. A few deltas have remained largely unchanged over the twentieth century, such as the Amazon (Brazil) and the Congo (Western Africa).

The research also identified three categories of delta, listed in order of increasing risk of flooding:
1. Those with decreasing sediment deposition that can no longer keep up with local sea level rise, e.g. the Vistula (Poland), the Brahmani (India) and the Godavari (India)
2. Those with decreasing sediment deposition plus accelerated compaction of sediment, e.g. the Ganges and the Mekong.
3. Those with virtually no sediment deposition or very high compaction of sediment, e.g. the Po (Italy), the Rhone (France) and the Nile (Egypt).

Altogether, the surface area of delta that is vulnerable to flooding could increase by 50 per cent under IPCC projections for sea level rise in the twenty-first century. The flooding will increase further if sediment continues to be trapped upstream by reservoirs and other human activities.

1. See www.ipcc.ch
2. See http://ec.europa.eu/environment/water/flood_risk/index.htm

Source: Syvitski, J.P.M., Kettner, A.J., Overeem, I. et al. (2009). Sinking deltas due to human activities. Nature Geoscience. Doi: 10.1038/NGE0629

Contact: james.syvitski@colorado.edu

Additional information
• The EU Floods Directive
• Results of the EU Eurosion project in the brochure ‘Living with coastal erosion in Europe: Sediment and Space for Sustainability’
• SedNet (The European Sediment Network)

Sediment pollution should be included in water quality assessments
(From DG Environment’s News Alert Service)

tThe quality of surface water is best assessed using the status of both the water and underlying sediment. A recent study concluded that water bodies risk being misclassified if sediment assessment is not included, which can lead to unnecessary recovery costs.

Under the Water Framework Directive¹ (WFD), Member States are required to achieve at least ‘good water status’ for surface water (inland, estuarine and coastal water bodies) in Europe by 2015. Surface water quality is assessed on both its ecological status and chemical status. Ecological status includes the physical and chemical conditions that affect the water’s biological quality, such as nutrients and oxygen levels. The chemical status is also determined according to levels (or environmental quality standards (EQS)) of important pollutants, including metals, found in the water, as listed under the EC’s Directive² on priority dangerous substances.

In this study, Spanish researchers investigated the quality of Basque coastal and estuarine waters in northern Spain. The study focused on the long-term trend (from 1995-2007) of water and sediment contamination by metal pollutants (arsenic, cadmium, copper, chromium, mercury, nickel, lead and zinc) and the response of these areas to water treatment programmes.
In addition, the chemical status of these water bodies was assessed using two approaches: (1) following the principle of ‘one out, all out’ under the WFD, whereby any metal in waters over the EQS will result in the whole station failing to achieve the chemical status (and for concentrations below the EQS, the chemical status is met), and (2) Combining the chemical quality of both the surface waters and the underlying sediment, using a methodology proposed by these researchers.

The river catchments, estuaries and coastal waters of the study area have been polluted by urban and industrial discharges, particularly from iron ore mining in the region. Additional pollution comes from the construction of ports, dredging, sediment disposal, and land reclamation. Emission control measures and water treatment programmes have been implemented to help tackle these pressures.

Using the first approach, few of the water bodies achieved good status, and the percentage of systems meeting this status falls over time. Using the second approach, more than 50 per cent of the water bodies achieved ‘good status’, with the percentage of systems meeting this status remaining steady over time.

The researchers argue that the second approach is more accurate in assessing chemical status as it is better at discriminating between less polluted water, which has less impact on wildlife, and that which is highly polluted. In addition, this approach reflects the drop in pollution of river catchments in recent years, which has improved water quality in many bodies.

By considering both water and sediment analysis in determining the status of water quality, resources could better be targeted at those bodies of water where levels of pollution have a greater negative effect on fish and other living organisms in the water. However, the researchers say further research is needed on EQS measurements in water and the interpretation of chemical concentrations of contaminants in sediments.

1. See: http://ec.europa.eu/environment/water/water-framework/index_en.html
2. See:
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2008:348:0084:0097:EN:PDF

Source: Tueros, I., Borja, A., Larreta, J. et al. (2009). Integrating long-term water and sediment pollution data, in assessing chemical status within the European Water Framework Directive. Marine Pollution Bulletin. 58:1389-1400.

Contact: itueros@azti.es

First phase of Hudson River dredging project complete
(From the US-EPA website)

The dredging work of the first phase of the Hudson River cleanup concluded in late October, after five-and-a-half months of dredging in a six-mile stretch of the Upper Hudson River near Fort Edward in New York State.

General Electric Co. (GE) conducted the dredging, with EPA oversight, and the company targeted 265,000 cubic yards (cy) of PCB-contaminated sediment. During Phase 1, dredging occurred 24 hours a day, six days a week, with the seventh day reserved for maintenance and make-up time for unplanned project interruptions. Dredging was conducted 133 days between May 15 and October 26, 2009. Backfilling and capping in some areas will continue through November 2009, until the Champlain Canal closes for the season.

Phase 1, the first year of dredging, was designed to address approximately 10 percent of the material to be dredged over the six-year project timeframe. At the end of Phase 1, an estimated 293,000 cy of PCB-contaminated sediment had been removed from the river. Although the volume of dredged sediment exceeded established goals for Phase 1, not all of the dredge areas originally targeted for Phase 1 were completed, (10 out of 18 areas were completed) due to sediment contamination in some areas that was deeper than expected. The presence of woody debris and PCB oil in the sediment also made the Phase 1 work challenging. Phase 2 will begin with the dredge areas that could not be completed during Phase 1.

Rail transport of the dewatered sediment from GE’s processing facility to a PCB-approved landfill in Andrews, Texas will continue through fall and winter 2009. Habitat reconstruction work will be conducted in the completed Phase 1 areas in spring 2010. Phase 2 will start full production only after an evaluation of Phase 1 is made and reviewed by the public and an independent panel of experts. Phase 2 is expected to begin in 2011 and will address the remaining contamination over five years.

Annual conference European Geosciences Union

The European Geosciences Union (EGU) annual conference is probably the main annual conference in Europe for sediment research. In 2010, the conference will be in Vienna again and will run between 2nd and 7th May 2010. There are many sessions dedicated to sediment-related research, mainly in the Hydrological Sciences (HS) and Geomorphology (GM) divisions. Below are some of the main sediment-related sessions. The call for abstracts is open to the public. The deadline for submission is early January 2010. For further details, please see here.

Upcoming events

2010:
26-28 April 2010: Integrated River Basin Management Conference; action programs and monitoring under the Water Framework Directive. Lille, France.
http://www.WFDLille2010.org

2-7 May 2010: European Geosciences Union (EGU) annual conference, Vienna, Austria.
http://meetingorganizer.copernicus.org/EGU2010/sessionprogramme

11-13 May 2010: 2nd International Symposium on Sediment Management, Casablanca, Morocco www.amce.ma

23-27 May 2010: SETAC Europe annual meeting, Seville, Spain.
Abstracts can be submitted until 30th November 2009.
http://seville.setac.eu/

9–14 September 2010: A conference of the World Organisation of Dredging Associations, WODCON XIX, Beijing, China. Organised by EADA in association of its Chinese Chapter, CHIDA.
A Call for Papers will be issued early 2009. See furtherhttp://www.woda.org/

22-24 September 2010: ConSoil 2010 – 11th UFZ-Deltares/TNO conference on the management of soil, groundwater and sediment. Call for abstracts open until 21 December 2009. http://www.consoil.de

2011:
19-23 June 2011: 12th International Symposium on the Interactions between Sediments and Water, Dartington, Devon, England. Organised by the International Association for Sediment Water Science (IASWS)
http://www.IASWS.org and www.geog.plymouth.ac.uk/IASWS2011

SedNet secretariat:
Mrs. Marjan Euser
Deltares / TNO
P.O. Box 342
NL-7300 AH Apeldoorn
The Netherlands

E-mail marjan.euser@tno.nl

On the 22nd and 23rd of November 2006 SedNet held a round-table discussion in Venice, Italy, entitled “Sediment Management – an Essential Part of River Basin Management Plans”. The full report can be downloaded from this website. You can also order copies of the report from the SedNet Secretariat.

Sediment is an essential, integral and dynamic part of our river basins. Where human activities interfere with sediment quantity or quality, sediment management becomes necessary. One of SedNet’s main recommendations is to integrate sustainable sediment management into the European Water Framework Directive related policy, legislation, and implementation process. This is to achieve good ecological status, or potential, and at the same time to support the well being of the European economy.

Central to the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD) are River Basin Management Plans, which have to be produced and published by 2009. Until now sediment related issues have played a minor role in the Common Implementation Strategy (CIS) process. SedNet aims at providing scientific and user oriented input into the WFD implementation phase.

On the basis of this background, SedNet organised a 2-day Round Table Discussion (RT) under the title “Sediment management – an essential element of River Basin Management Plans”. The objective was to derive generic and specific recommendations for sediment management based on experiences in selected key river basins taking into account legal requirements, needs of users and scientific advice.

The Round Table Discussion brought together delegates from European river commissions, user groups, and scientists. The river basins represented were the Danube, Douro, Elbe, Humber and Rhine. Some of the uses discussed were aggregate dredging for the construction industry; agricultural use of grassland in floodplains; dredging for navigation purposes; drinking water supply; hydropower generation; etc.

The participants concluded that sediment management is an issue in all 5 river basins. Each river basin has specific natural characteristics, uses, history, challenges. It became evident that until now the WFD thinking is very ‘fluvial’.
Sediment quantity and quality issues are closely interrelated and can not be separated. Sediment management in terms of quality and quantity should receive due attention in River Basin Management Plans. To develop such a plan can be challenging taking into consideration the requirements of different European and national legislation. Also EU Policies may create conflicting ambitions.
An adaptive management approach is required; there is not a one-size-fits-all solution, it has to be tailor-made to the specific situation. Estuaries are different from rivers and require adequate attention. It is important to make use of experience from other river basins and to develop common basic approaches.
There is a need for wide recognition that the current “at risk” classification within the WFD is a screening level, which should trigger spatial discrimination, further study of effects and tests of the significance of impacts. This requires an integrated thinking about rivers and transitional waters.
Also future research will be necessary. There is a need to collate available data to identify knowledge gaps and enhance understanding, linking sediment management to environmental and climate change issues.
The Round Table concluded that achieving good ecological status requires a proper attention to sediment issues, with an awareness of natural variation and differences between river basins.

The outcome of the Round Table will be used to inform River Basin Managers, key players and users, and the European Commission for the further implementation process of the WFD.

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