Dredged Material as a Waterfront Resource

For ports and waterfront operators, dredging has always been part of maintaining access and supporting maritime operations. But finding an effective, economical use for the sediment removed from these channels is a growing challenge.

Many ports are running out of traditional places to put dredged material. Simultaneously, wetlands and other coastal habitats are disappearing, threatened by subsidence, sea level rise, erosion, and other pressures.

This creates an opportunity to connect two needs. Marsh restoration, shoreline stabilization, habitat improvements, and coastal resilience projects often require sediment. Material removed from ports and waterways may therefore become a resource for coastal environments that can benefit
from it.

At Anchor QEA, we look for ways to make that connection. Our work for ports and federal, state, and local agencies includes dredging and dredged material management involving both clean and contaminated sediments. As placement capacity becomes more constrained, the question increasingly becomes: Can material already in a channel or at a waterfront site be put to productive use somewhere else?

This sounds straightforward. In practice, successful beneficial use of dredged material (BUDM) requires considerably more than identifying a site that needs sediment.

Connecting the Source and the Need

One of the central lessons of Sediment Strategies: Considerations and Case Studies for Beneficial Use—The Nature Conservancy’s (TNC’s) award-winning guide that we co-authored with TNC and Proof Projects—is that the sediment source and the BUDM opportunity must align in several ways. While the guide focuses primarily on Maryland and the Chesapeake Bay, it draws on knowledge and case studies from across the country to address sediment management and coastal restoration challenges that extend well beyond the region.

The following should be considered:

• The material must be physically and chemically appropriate for its intended use. 
• The amount of sediment available has to match the scale of the receiving project. 
• The dredging and placement schedules need to be aligned. 
• The methods used to dredge, transport, and place the material have to work together. 

Distance can be especially important. Transportation is often one of the largest cost drivers in BUDM projects, and moving sediment even a few additional miles can make an otherwise attractive project impractical. Proximity alone isn’t enough, however; a nearby site must need the sediment when it becomes available.

This makes beneficial use as much a planning and coordination challenge as an engineering one.

Early Planning Creates More Options

Too often, the question of what to do with dredged material is addressed relatively late in the process.

A better approach is to identify potential beneficial uses while dredging and waterfront improvements are still being planned. Successful implementation is more likely when financing, design, and permitting are established before dredging begins.

Early planning also creates more flexibility. Project teams can evaluate sediment characteristics, potential receiving sites, transportation requirements, environmental constraints, land ownership, access, nearby infrastructure, and other logistical considerations before these issues become schedule or cost problems. 

For ports, this broader view can be particularly valuable because dredging is frequently associated with channel deepening, berth improvements, waterfront structures, shipyard expansion, and other infrastructure investments. Considering the dredged material as part of the larger program can create beneficial use opportunities that might otherwise be missed.

There Isn’t One Beneficial Use Solution

Another important lesson is that beneficial use does not mean doing the same thing everywhere.

Across the case studies documented in Sediment Strategies, dredged material has been used to build or enhance marshes, stabilize shorelines, support submerged habitat, and create or restore islands. Some projects mechanically or hydraulically place material directly at the restoration site. Others strategically place sediment, so waves, tides, and currents can help distribute it naturally.

The appropriate solution depends on the sediment, the receiving environment, and the project’s objectives. It also depends on connecting the organizations managing the sediment with those that can use it. State resource agencies, nonprofits and other groups that own or manage coastal lands often play a key role in identifying restoration needs and advancing potential beneficial use projects. Ports and dredging entities bring another essential part of the equation: the sediment itself.

Making these connections broadens the way dredged material is viewed. For ports and others responsible for managing it, “Where can we put this material?” remains an important and often pressing question. But it is increasingly asked alongside another: “What can this material help us accomplish?”

As dredged material placement becomes more challenging and beneficial use goals grow more ambitious, asking both questions can create more opportunities to put available sediment to productive use.

About Sediment Strategies

Sediment Strategies: Considerations and Case Studies for Beneficial Use was developed by TNC in collaboration with Anchor QEA and Proof Projects. Isaac Hametz of TNC served as project director and Austin Bamford as project manager. Brian Davis and Theresa Ruswick of Proof Projects joined us as lead authors. Anchor QEA contributors also included Vanessa Woolley, Zheng Fang, Jill Zwierz, and Mindy Strevig, with Ken Mayo serving as editor. The report was recognized with a 2026 ASLA Professional Award Honor Award in Communications by the American Society of Landscape Architects.

You can download the full report at The Nature Conservancy’s Sediment Strategies page.

By Walter Dinicola, PE, F.ASCE, and Katie Haviland, PhD

Walter Dinicola, PE, F.ASCE is a Principal Engineer and Ports and Waterfront Lead and Katie Haviland, PhD is a Scientist at Anchor QEA. 

Get in touch with Walter Dinicola.

Get in touch with Katie Haviland.