I have lived where I am for 74 years and have watched the evolution of dredging over the years with a love hate relationship. This year will likely be the last year that the Westport site will be used. A new site across the river on Puget Island is being developed to the west of where I live. This will create a pile of sand 30 feet high that will eventually block the views of the sun setting over the Nicolai ridge that I have enjoyed all my life. This will have a negative impact on our property value and quality of life with no compensation at a time in life that we may be looking at selling. It's not all rainbows and unicorns for people that will be forced to live next door to a soil site.
I remember wading out from a Sauvie Island beach into the Columbia a few years back. It was only 4 or 5 feet deep in the late summer flow until I hit a sudden drop off. I knew it was the barge channel. Felt kind of spooky knowing how deep that would go. Of course, I stopped there.
Also- i heard that sand (used for construction) is very valuable and a diminishing resource. Is the dredged material here of the same quality that is required for making cement? This was referred to but only very briefly. Found myself wondering…
Generally speaking, the sand required for construction purposes needs to be 'sharp sand', that is, it has sharp edges, whereas the sands found in river silts will be more rounded like children's play sand. Think about the pebbles and stones that you see in a river. They are all rounded from having been bumped and tumbled against other rocks and stones during their journey down the river. Many countries are forced to utilise river sands for construction purposes because they don't have any other options. The dangers are that the removal of sands can create greater problems during prolonged rainfall periods like in a 'wet season'. Vietnam has been experiencing such problems due to the dredging of too much sand from their rivers. The sand itself is harder to use than sharp sand because it doesn't want to interlock as well with the other ingredients in the concrete mix. The absolute worst sand to use for construction is beach sand because of its coating of salts. It requires extensive washing via numerous stages in order to wash away as much of the salts as possible. Failure to do so can easily accelerate the corrosion of your steel reinforcing bars and sheets in concrete, which shortens the life of a building significantly. Mark from Melbourne Australia Carpenter 40 years.
Strange how the State of Oregon views dredging the Columbia as harmless to fish and wildlife while benefiting the economy when a guy dredging for gold on the weekend trying to have fun and maybe make a few bucks is viewed as harmful. Go figure?
I have a little experience with both so here goes. Fish and wildlife don't use the middle of the river, they stick primarily closer to the banks and slower running areas not used by shipping. Dredgers on the other hand are both good and bad for the fish. Fish lay eggs in the gravel and breath air through their gills. Dredgers can lay sand and silt over the top of gravel beds containing eggs and stir up silt that can clog fish gills, suffocating them. Some of these are seasonal concerns and you see the laws dealing with that. Others are due to dredgers working in the banks, which is usually illegal, and leaving a long plume of dirty water sometimes hundreds of yards down stream. If you look at the sand being removed from the river, you don't see any of that silty sediment being pumped back in the river or laid back over fish feeding or hatching grounds.
@@dh405oh where do you come up with this stuff, yes it stirs the sediment no doubt which doesn't effect fish quite the way you claim. For starters every single spring winter melt off there's thousands times more sediment being pushed downstream which is the exact same time that salmon spawn & the areas where they lay eggs is sediment filled, not to mention the food that gets kicked up for feeding fish. While gold dredging it doesn't make nearly the impact claimed. Secondly gold dredging actually improves spawning habitat by removing larger rocks leaving a gravel bed which makes the area exactly what spawning fish seek. Third thing is that salmon run or swim along the banks exactly where you claim they dredge the Columbia which would effect spawning patterns as much as gold dredging, which is actually very minimal according to multiple wsu studies.
@@phylxguy5547 As you are aware, there are many ways to skew data to obtain the results you seek. I'll just leave it at that. My sources are 10 years of working with the Corps of Engineers on the Columbia and Snake rivers, 10 plus years recreationally dredging on many of the rivers and streams in Washington and some contract work for ODFW on the Salmon Tracking System. I'm by no means an expert, but I see what I see from experience in the areas I worked.
Probably meant either the Lewis or Kalama Rivers. Though that said, the Cowlitz does pass the north flank of St. Helens, which is where the majority of debris and rubble from her explosion was deposited, and the Cispus does also manages to occupy it's eastern and northeastern flanks, bringing even more of the debris downstream via the Cowlitz. The Toutle (also a Cowlitz Tributary) as you mentioned as well is from St. Helens. So to be fair, even the Cowlitz is actually carrying St. Helens' debris.
This one dredge creates more turbidity in one day than all the the people that dredge for precious metals out of Oregon’s streams . Wile miners remove , mercury , lead and other heavy toxic metals wile dreadfing for gold , they also create more lose gravel beds for fish to lay there eggs . Also it creates a feeding frenzy for the fish wile the miners are dredging. However certin folks think that it’s better to just leave all these toxic metals in the river and let them continue to move down stream . They don’t want more gravel beds for the fish and they don’t want people mining and prospecting . Yet the state comes in and dredges all the water ways that all these fish travel through for ship passage . 😡 people have lost their minds .
What a joke gold dredging is completely outlawed in Washington state and this thing out there churning up millions of yards of material every what week? Day? Month? Certainly every year!
I don't know why so many governments don't mandate dredging as necessary. Our river is building up so much with debris and gravel and then causing flooding and threatening the bridges. Their argument is that the gravel is there for fish eggs and cannot be disturbed. I am saying don't remove all the gravel but to remove the buildup.
So let me get this straight this is not a significant negative impact on fish or the river system but a 2, 3 or 4 inch gold dredge is. It's illegal to run a 2 inch gold dredge because it's harmful to fish but this operation is not. Makes total sense to me. So if I get a cutter head dredge can I get a permit to dredge for gold? No I need to stay home gold dredging kills fish bahahahaha America land of the free.
Reporters can't help but make the story about the reporters themselves. Used to be a short name and station intro, then right into the story. Not any more. Five minute intro of reporter fawning all over themselves. 😢😢😢
Dredging is a terrible thing, and it really shouldn't be a thing. They act like a shallow cut for a immersed tunnel to replace the bridge (IBR) is far too dangerous and environmentally disruptive and degrading than it is to actually rip out a massive portion of the river bed yearly. No that somehow is just fine, doesn't disrupt or disturb salmon migration, nor does it cause any discernible environmental damage, degradation or impact. But god-forbid a tunnel gets placed into the bed of the river to cross it, it'll decimate the salmon runs, and heavily degrade the riverine ecosystems!
Great Story, Greg. Thanks for doing it.
Wow, what an informative program I wish people would do more things like this thank you😊
Really enjoyed this. Glad you took the time to produce this.
I have lived where I am for 74 years and have watched the evolution of dredging over the years with a love hate relationship. This year will likely be the last year that the Westport site will be used. A new site across the river on Puget Island is being developed to the west of where I live. This will create a pile of sand 30 feet high that will eventually block the views of the sun setting over the Nicolai ridge that I have enjoyed all my life. This will have a negative impact on our property value and quality of life with no compensation at a time in life that we may be looking at selling. It's not all rainbows and unicorns for people that will be forced to live next door to a soil site.
I have lived on the Columbia River most of my life and never knew they had a dredge.
This is cool. Thanks!
I remember wading out from a Sauvie Island beach into the Columbia a few years back. It was only 4 or 5 feet deep in the late summer flow until I hit a sudden drop off. I knew it was the barge channel. Felt kind of spooky knowing how deep that would go. Of course, I stopped there.
Also- i heard that sand (used for construction) is very valuable and a diminishing resource. Is the dredged material here of the same quality that is required for making cement? This was referred to but only very briefly. Found myself wondering…
Generally speaking, the sand required for construction purposes needs to be 'sharp sand', that is, it has sharp edges, whereas the sands found in river silts will be more rounded like children's play sand. Think about the pebbles and stones that you see in a river. They are all rounded from having been bumped and tumbled against other rocks and stones during their journey down the river. Many countries are forced to utilise river sands for construction purposes because they don't have any other options. The dangers are that the removal of sands can create greater problems during prolonged rainfall periods like in a 'wet season'. Vietnam has been experiencing such problems due to the dredging of too much sand from their rivers. The sand itself is harder to use than sharp sand because it doesn't want to interlock as well with the other ingredients in the concrete mix. The absolute worst sand to use for construction is beach sand because of its coating of salts. It requires extensive washing via numerous stages in order to wash away as much of the salts as possible. Failure to do so can easily accelerate the corrosion of your steel reinforcing bars and sheets in concrete, which shortens the life of a building significantly.
Mark from Melbourne Australia
Carpenter 40 years.
@ wow. Thanks! -olympic peninsula (!)
The 'ditch' is actually the shipping channel or lane so it's more like a street sweeper with a unusual method of sweeping!
Interesting clip. All about head and horsepower!
Great Story, I Never knew! Wow..
the lucky peak damn in boise, idaho is due for its first dredge.
I always wondered how they would do it one day. No ships, but after 100+years its do.
Strange how the State of Oregon views dredging the Columbia as harmless to fish and wildlife while benefiting the economy when a guy dredging for gold on the weekend trying to have fun and maybe make a few bucks is viewed as harmful. Go figure?
Assinine isn't it.
Dredging for gold in the Columbia?
I have a little experience with both so here goes. Fish and wildlife don't use the middle of the river, they stick primarily closer to the banks and slower running areas not used by shipping. Dredgers on the other hand are both good and bad for the fish. Fish lay eggs in the gravel and breath air through their gills. Dredgers can lay sand and silt over the top of gravel beds containing eggs and stir up silt that can clog fish gills, suffocating them. Some of these are seasonal concerns and you see the laws dealing with that. Others are due to dredgers working in the banks, which is usually illegal, and leaving a long plume of dirty water sometimes hundreds of yards down stream. If you look at the sand being removed from the river, you don't see any of that silty sediment being pumped back in the river or laid back over fish feeding or hatching grounds.
@@dh405oh where do you come up with this stuff, yes it stirs the sediment no doubt which doesn't effect fish quite the way you claim. For starters every single spring winter melt off there's thousands times more sediment being pushed downstream which is the exact same time that salmon spawn & the areas where they lay eggs is sediment filled, not to mention the food that gets kicked up for feeding fish. While gold dredging it doesn't make nearly the impact claimed. Secondly gold dredging actually improves spawning habitat by removing larger rocks leaving a gravel bed which makes the area exactly what spawning fish seek. Third thing is that salmon run or swim along the banks exactly where you claim they dredge the Columbia which would effect spawning patterns as much as gold dredging, which is actually very minimal according to multiple wsu studies.
@@phylxguy5547 As you are aware, there are many ways to skew data to obtain the results you seek. I'll just leave it at that. My sources are 10 years of working with the Corps of Engineers on the Columbia and Snake rivers, 10 plus years recreationally dredging on many of the rivers and streams in Washington and some contract work for ODFW on the Salmon Tracking System. I'm by no means an expert, but I see what I see from experience in the areas I worked.
Interesting program. I would definitely stay out of the way of that machine in my kayak.
Mount St Helens doesn't feed into the cowlitz river. The toutle come off St Helens, cowlitz is from Rainier and goat rocks.
The Toutle goes into the Cowlitz dummy.
Probably meant either the Lewis or Kalama Rivers. Though that said, the Cowlitz does pass the north flank of St. Helens, which is where the majority of debris and rubble from her explosion was deposited, and the Cispus does also manages to occupy it's eastern and northeastern flanks, bringing even more of the debris downstream via the Cowlitz. The Toutle (also a Cowlitz Tributary) as you mentioned as well is from St. Helens. So to be fair, even the Cowlitz is actually carrying St. Helens' debris.
Toutle flows into cowlitz
This one dredge creates more turbidity in one day than all the the people that dredge for precious metals out of Oregon’s streams . Wile miners remove , mercury , lead and other heavy toxic metals wile dreadfing for gold , they also create more lose gravel beds for fish to lay there eggs . Also it creates a feeding frenzy for the fish wile the miners are dredging. However certin folks think that it’s better to just leave all these toxic metals in the river and let them continue to move down stream . They don’t want more gravel beds for the fish and they don’t want people mining and prospecting . Yet the state comes in and dredges all the water ways that all these fish travel through for ship passage . 😡 people have lost their minds .
F n crazy huh my 2 inch dredge kills fish totally outlawed on the columbia this thing though completely safe for fish prob even saves fish life's
Gold dredging must be allowed if we are doing this on the columbia.
You can know Iongr tell me my dredge is killing fish
What a joke gold dredging is completely outlawed in Washington state and this thing out there churning up millions of yards of material every what week? Day? Month? Certainly every year!
I don't know why so many governments don't mandate dredging as necessary. Our river is building up so much with debris and gravel and then causing flooding and threatening the bridges. Their argument is that the gravel is there for fish eggs and cannot be disturbed. I am saying don't remove all the gravel but to remove the buildup.
Need to rent that and take it to nome.😊
Is the sediment (from st helens) the same as the sand found on beaches??
Lets see behind the scenes of ilani.
So let me get this straight this is not a significant negative impact on fish or the river system but a 2, 3 or 4 inch gold dredge is. It's illegal to run a 2 inch gold dredge because it's harmful to fish but this operation is not. Makes total sense to me. So if I get a cutter head dredge can I get a permit to dredge for gold? No I need to stay home gold dredging kills fish bahahahaha America land of the free.
You get a cutter head dredge and I will go to Nome with you 😂
Dredging can release old contamination with deep cleaning.
14:03 - Landrover ?
I'd give money if they renamed the "Oregon" to the "Pirate Roberts." (Go ahead, say the whole name...)
Reporters can't help but make the story about the reporters themselves. Used to be a short name and station intro, then right into the story. Not any more. Five minute intro of reporter fawning all over themselves. 😢😢😢
Good question about how it's being used and harvested for construction. Where's the sluice, to collect the fine gold?
You thank the Captain not the crew for being on board. You can thank Captain and crew for their assistance while you are on board.
Actually I'd call it more back to me now and i'm not sleepy now
Dredging is a terrible thing, and it really shouldn't be a thing. They act like a shallow cut for a immersed tunnel to replace the bridge (IBR) is far too dangerous and environmentally disruptive and degrading than it is to actually rip out a massive portion of the river bed yearly. No that somehow is just fine, doesn't disrupt or disturb salmon migration, nor does it cause any discernible environmental damage, degradation or impact. But god-forbid a tunnel gets placed into the bed of the river to cross it, it'll decimate the salmon runs, and heavily degrade the riverine ecosystems!