DREDGING Highlights from the Past

30 years ago
November 1980. Portland District Engineer Col. Terence J. Connell announced that government and contract dredges would continue to work in the Columbia River to counter siltation from the Mount St. Helens eruption.

December 1980. The establishment of the Eastern Dredging Association at WODCON IX in Vancouver (October 1980) was reported. A provisional board of directors was elected.

20 years ago
November 1990. Larry Patella announced that the terms “dredge spoils” and “dump sites” would no longer be used to describe dredged material and placement sites to counter a negative public image of dredging.

December 1990. The Waterways Experiment Station issued reports on new dredging procedures. “The Dredge Silent Inspector System” was written by James Rosati III; and “Equipment and Techniques for Capping Contaminated Dredged Material” was written by Robert E. Randall and Michael R. Palermo.

10 years ago
November 2000. Arnoldo Gallont Soriano died at the age of 59. He was president of consulting company Arnoldo Gallont SA de CV Monterrey Mexico and contracted and managed dredging projects in Latin America with Great Lakes Dredge & Dock as a major customer.

November 2000. The Government of Nicaragua and private company Ecocanal S.A. signed a concession contract the final legal step needed to proceed with the construction of a private waterway to re-connect Lake Nicaragua and the Caribbean Sea.

December 2000. WEDA published Vol. 2 No. 4 of the Journal of Dredging Engineering which included “Optimization of Mechanical Dredging Operations for Navigational Purposes” by Philip Keillor Carola Blazquez and Teresa Adams; and “A Dredging Information System for the River Scheldt” by ir. J. Claessens ir. Ph. Van de Velde and ir. J. Smits.