WEDA, a non-profit technical association devoted to the exchange of knowledge in fields related to dredging, navigation, marine engineering and construction, recently held the 2018 Conference in Norfolk, Virginia.
For over five years, DSC Dredge LLC has sponsored the Western Dredging Association (WEDA) Best Paper Award at its annual Dredging Summit & Expo.
Always with the theme “Why Dredging is Good” and a $1,000 award, the selection committee named Joe Wagner the 2018 winner at this year’s Dredging Summit & Expo. Joseph Wagner is a Senior Dredging Engineer with Amec Foster Wheeler in Jacksonville, Florida.
Entitled “Save Our Lagoon Project Plan Funded Muck Removal, Brevard County, Florida,” Wagner outlined details of how dredging was deemed the proper solution to meet water quality targets and improve aesthetic appeal, health, productivity and economic value of the Indian River Lagoon.
In the paper’s introduction, Wagner writes that “ The Indian River Lagoon (IRL) is among the most biologically diverse estuaries in North America. While the IRL’s environmental importance is apparent, the IRL is also a vibrant economic engine, generating more than $7.6 billion per year to the state of Florida, much of that within Brevard County .”
After 50 years of muck build-up in the Indian River Lagoon, sales tax revenues were dedicated to sediment removal through dredging. Recent results from an environmental restoration dredging effort seem to validate dredging to remove undesirable sediments is the primary component of the overall restoration plan.