Guidelines for Designing Operating and Managing Dredged Material Containment Area.

Guidelines are presented for designing, operating, and managing dredged material containment areas to meet required effluent solids standards and to provide adequate storage volume. The guidelines are equally applicable to design of new containment areas and to evaluation of existing sites. Field investigations necessary to provide data for containment area design are described to include channel sediment investigations and foundation investigations at the containment area. Sample type and location, sampling equipment, and sample preservation techniques are included. Laboratory testing procedures required to obtain data for sediment characterization, containment area design, and estimates of long-term storage capacity are given. Sediment characterization tests include salinity determination of near-bottom water and natural water content, Atterberg limits, organic content, specific gravity, and grain size analysis of the sediments. Sedimentation tests performed in an 8-in.-diam column are used to define settling behavior within the dredged material containment area. Procedures for both flocculent settling tests, generally applicable to saltwater sediments, are described.... Summaries of research pertinent to designing, operating, and managing dredged material containment areas are example calculations are included in appendices to the main text.