Ellicott Dredge used to Reclaim Channel in Chesapeake Bay, Maryland
Pleasure Island is situated to the east of the community of Edgemere in Baltimore County, Maryland. It is also very close to the Hart Miller Island dredge disposal complex, which is operated by the Maryland Environmental Service.
When the time came for Baltimore County to dredge the channel in Hawk Cove, (located between the mainland and Pleasure Island), the county awarded the dredging project to Contractor Maryland Diving Service, Inc. In turn, Maryland Diving Service made the decision to use Ellicott International (Baltimore, MD) as its marine equipment supplier.
The project required maintenance dredging of the channel and disposal of the slurry into the Hart Miller Island dredge disposal facility, with a maximum pipeline length of 15,000 feet. The contracting company decided on an Ellicott Series 370 dredge and two Series 370 booster pumps, which were leased from Ellicott.
The Series 370 dredge has a digging depth of 20 feet, uses the Ellicott 12 x 10 Series 400 dredge pump, and is transportable on a single truck with a ladder attached. The 56,000-pound dredge was launched at a local boatyard and then towed into position. One of the booster pumps was barge-mounted and the other pump was situated on the shore of Hart Miller Island, in which a 12-inch, high density polyethylene pipeline was used. All the equipment uses CAT 3406 diesel engines rated at 400 horsepower each and Ellicott Series 400 dredge pumps.
Sales Manager of Ellicott’s Mud Cat™ Division, said "The interchangeability of components - engines, dredge pumps, service water pumps, gauges, etc., was important from a standpoint of minimizing downtime. While no major equipment malfunctions occurred, we were looking to support Maryland Diving with instant response should a problem had arisen."
The project, now completed, required two crews of seven men/shift. Since then, Maryland Diving President Charles Warren purchased the Series 370 dredge and named the vessel "BADGER". The contracting company was recently awarded two new dredging contracts—one for a marina and another for the Maryland Environmental Service.
Formed in 1979, Maryland Diving Service’s major projects have included the installation of grout bags on Solomon’s Island, MD; repair of the seawall at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, MD; and bridge & tunnel repairs and structural steel replacement at the Thomas Point Lighthouse.
Pleasure Island is the first hydraulic dredging project ever undertaken by the contracting company. Warren pointed out, "We decided to branch out into new marine construction opportunities, and it looks like there will be more dredging work in the Chesapeake Bay area."
Reprinted from Work Dredging Mining & Construction
