Dredging or Sediment Removal: Which Option Is Best for My Waterbody?

When you have a water body that you're maintaining, you need to determine which type of dredging is best for your pond or lake. As water bodies get older, they can get a layer of sediment at the bottom, which creates a whole host of problems, including algae bloom and too many aquatic plants. In these types of bodies of water, fish and other animals usually can't live, and taking a boat with a motor out into this type of water is usually out of the question because the plants will get tangled in the blades. All of these problems usually lead to lower home values. Learn more about choosing the right dredging solutions here.

Hydraulic Dredging
​This type of dredging pulls up sediment and water through a pump and sends it offshore through a tube. One of its biggest benefits is that it can do large amounts of work in a short amount of time because the operating cycles are almost continuous. Plus, because the system is closed, the sediment doesn't get suspended back into the water. The one drawback of this type of dredging is that it doesn't work if there's a lot of large debris, which can break the machine.

Mechanical Dredging
This method uses a backhoe or clamshell to dig up sediment, which is put into trucks to go to disposal sites. Mechanical dredging is good for bodies of water that have a lot of large objects, such as rocks and branches, because these objects won't break the clamshell or backhoe. This method can be used to dredge ponds, boat ways in lakes, and large container shipping routes in the ocean. One of its drawbacks is that it often means that the entire body of water is drained. It's also only good for smaller areas and takes longer than hydraulic dredging.

Hydro-Raking
This tool uses a rake at the front of a water vehicle to rake up much, such as plants and dead material at the bottom of the body of water. Its biggest drawback is that you can't use it to get rid of sediment at the bottom of the body of water. It's usually used on smaller bodies of water, and it's good on water as shallow as 18 inches.

How To Choose a Dredging Method
You should look at the size of the body of water you need to dredge and what kind of material you need to dig up. Also, talk to lake management companies in Florida to learn more about what would be best for your water body. An expert can quickly determine which type of dredging would be best, and they can tell you more about how you can maintain your body of water in the future.