Question about dredging depth vs. environmental impact - looking for honest opinions

3 comments

3 Comments

Ha! My last attempt at dredging was me trying to dig a small pond in my backyard with a shovel and a bucket. Ended up with a mud puddle that the neighbor's cat treats like a spa. On the real question though, I've heard that going too deep can stir up old toxins that were settled at the bottom for decades, so maybe start shallow and see what you're actually pulling up. Probably better to do a few small test holes than guess wrong and turn the whole area into a muddy mess.

caleb_thomas939d ago

Wait, are you really worried about stirring up toxins from like 50 year old settled sediment? Most of that stuff sinks deep and stays put unless you're out there with a hydraulic pump churning up the whole bottom. I've pulled up muck from old farm ponds that had been sitting for decades and it was just normal mud with some rusty nails, not some toxic waste dump. Plus if you go too shallow you're just skimming the top layer of loose stuff and not actually getting to the real problem, which is the compacted junk underneath that's been building up for years. Start with a solid test hole maybe 3 feet deep and see what you're actually dealing with, because a few inches of scooping won't tell you anything useful unless you're just trying to make a mud puddle for the cat.

parker_thomas8d ago

Read a study a few years back about sediment in old industrial canals. They found the top layer actually traps the bad stuff below it. Digging too deep breaks that seal and releases things like heavy metals and old pesticides that stayed buried for years. Seen a similar thing in farm ponds near old orchards. The top muck is fine but six inches down you hit layers of old chemical runoff that was used back in the 60s. Better to test shallow first then go deeper if the water clears up.