Seven Mile Island Innovation Laboratory

POTENTIAL SAVINGS OF $200 MILLION PER YEAR INTERCOASTAL WATERWAY & DREDGING ACTIVITIES

Many marshes are sediment starved, amplifying the need for innovative methods to repurpose dredged material from navigation channels and use it to nourish these marshes. The Corps’ Philadelphia District launched the Seven Mile Island Innovation Laboratory to advance and improve dredging and marsh restoration techniques in coastal New Jersey. The partnership between the district, the state of New Jersey, the non-profit The Wetlands Institute and the ERDC leverages Engineering With Nature ® principles and regional sediment management expertise through innovative research, collaboration, knowledge sharing and practical application. The innovation laboratory provides a forum to advance technical knowledge, demonstrate novel approaches and enhance collaborative efforts on new projects. It functions as a think tank to develop and demonstrate innovative techniques so these projects can gain more widespread application.

PROBLEM: Marshes provide hundreds of millions of dollars in flood reduction and ecological benefits. Many marshes are sediment starved and face increasing stress. There is a great need to advance and improve dredging and marsh restoration techniques to retain dredged sediment in the system to benefit natural ecosystems and reduce coastal risk from storms.

SOLUTION: The Seven Mile Island Innovation Laboratory was launched to conduct innovative, collaborative research with significant ecological value and practical applications. Its research is being used to identify baseline dredged material placement site conditions and initial designs; develop placement strategies that strive to mimic natural processes; coordinate with resource agencies; and construct placements of dredged material. The laboratory also provides a venue to evaluate adaptive management strategies to benefit long-term sustainable practices.

IMPACT: The Seven Mile Island Innovation Laboratory is improving the Corps’ ability to maintain safe navigation channels while retaining dredged sediment in the system to enhance natural ecosystems and their flood risk reduction and environmental benefits. The laboratory is resulting in a more innovative and cost-efficient dredging program, with the potential to save at least $500 thousand annually in dredging and placement costs for coastal New Jersey alone. Nation-wide application of methods tested at the laboratory would save the Corps more than $200 million per year in intercoastal waterway dredging and placement activities.