Evaluation of Project Designs for Contaminated Sediment Management: User Guide
The objective of this user guide is to outline the key factors that should be considered in the design and management of contaminated sediment. It serves as a resource for project managers to manage, review or provide advice on developing a sediment management design for a particular site.
The management of contaminated sediment is usually a complex endeavour. Aquatic contaminated sites are highly dynamic environments requiring an in-depth understanding of numerous chemical, physical, biological and socio-economic aspects in order to develop a safe, responsible and effective management solution.
This document summarizes the experience gained on contaminated sediment management projects in the Great Lakes Areas of Concern, which are locations within the Great Lakes identified as having experienced high levels of environmental harm. We play a leading role in developing and implementing contaminated sediment management strategies to improve water quality and ecosystem health and, ultimately, to support the delisting of Areas of Concern.
This document describes the general steps required to arrive at the design stage of a project and general considerations that apply to sediment management strategies, including: site characterization, project success criteria / clean-up goals, source control, conceptual site models, characterization of the site, contaminants of concern, site setting, ecological, surface water conditions, hydrodynamics, groundwater, assignment of risk and climate change.
The User Guide describes common specific sediment management techniques currently in practice: environmental dredging, confined disposal facilities, isolation capping, thin-layer capping (enhanced monitored natural recovery), in situ remedies and monitored natural recovery. It also includes four Canadian cases studies from our Great Lakes Areas of Concern program, which includes two blended remedy sites, one thin-layer capping site and one monitored natural recovery site.
