Desilting, silt removal and dredging

Desilting, silt removal and dredging

 

Desilting

Silt collects on the bottoms of rivers, lakes and ponds, it is a fine sediment that is caused by the decay of organisms into the water. The build-up of silt will lead to a reduction in water depth, an increased risk of flooding and potentially the loss of the watercourse. This usually occurs in autumn when plants die back and trees lose their leaves it is also caused by run off from surrounding land as well as the decomposing of natural materials.

Oxygen levels at the lake bed will diminish and organic waste will not be oxidised. Water quality will deteriorate significantly impacting aquatic flora and fauna, making desilting a vital process.

Left for nature to take its course, waste build up will continue until emergent plants colonise the surface and eventually small trees and scrub will become established and the lake will disappear altogether.

In order to extend the life of a lake or body of water and promote biodiversity, it is necessary to periodically remove the build-up of silt from the lake bed.

Silt removed from a lake or water body is classified as waste by the Environment Agency, and as such is subject to the waste regulations. However, as it is created from decomposed organic material, run-off from surrounding fields and waste from aquatic animals it is a rich source of growing material and as such can be recycled on site rather than be removed as waste which means a huge cost saving.

 

How Aquatic Solutions can help with desilting

With our fleet of Truxor machines, we use two different methods for desilting:

• Using a pump attachment on the Truxor, we pump the material from the water bed.
• Using a clamshell bucket attachment we dredge the material from the water bed and transfer it to its final location.

We will save you the costly process (and the environmental impact) of de-silting from site in the following ways: 

• We can create new banks to the lake or river using a porous membrane called Nicospan, behind which we deposit the removed silt to create a site which can be planted up to improve both aesthetics and the biodiversity of the area.
• We pump the silt into appropriately placed de-watering bags which allows the silt to dry out naturally, leaving behind a useful planting medium which can be used elsewhere on site.

 

If you would like to learn more about how we can help you deal with desilting and lake dredging, please contact us and we can have an informal chat to discuss your needs. 

We utilise Google Earth or you can attach pictures (below) of the area to help discuss any project in more clarity and detail.

All of our quotations are provided free of charge and in the case of larger jobs we would undertake a site survey.

Call us on 01788 810614 or email us at info@aquatic-solutions.co.uk, or by using the online form below. We look forward to hearing from you soon.