Dredging

Dredging is the <a href="/facts/Digging/FG5P8Q64">excavation</a> of material from a water environment. Possible reasons for dredging include improving existing <a href="/facts/Water_feature/oSYXucbw">water features</a>; reshaping land and water features to alter <a href="/facts/Drainage/thEd3nfB">drainage</a>, <a href="/facts/Navigability/pFLA5geM">navigability</a>, and commercial use; constructing <a href="/facts/Dam/BroJFhEI">dams</a>, <a href="/facts/Levee/99xdvoVg">dikes</a>, and other controls for streams and shorelines; and recovering valuable mineral deposits or marine life having commercial value. In all but a few situations the excavation is undertaken by a specialist floating <a href="/facts/Heavy_machinery/e2uMkvnK">plant</a>, known as a dredger.
Usually the main objectives of dredging is to recover material of value, or to create a greater depth of water. Dredging systems can either be shore-based, brought to a location based on <a href="/facts/Barge/9XrPkXV4">barges</a>, or built into purpose-built vessels.
Dredging can have environmental impacts: it can disturb <a href="/facts/Marine_sediment/0HfKDgDI">marine sediments</a>, creating <a href="/facts/Dredge_plume/6Dgj9VG1">dredge plumes</a> which can lead to both short- and long-term <a href="/facts/Water_pollution/SCUhUYqB">water pollution</a>, damage or destroy <a href="/facts/Marine_ecosystem/thPh931d">seabed ecosystems</a>, and release <a href="/facts/Legacy_pollution/7crwuEKD">legacy human-sourced toxins</a> captured in the sediment. These environmental impacts can reduce marine wildlife populations, contaminate sources of drinking water, and interrupt economic activities such as fishing.
For more information, please also read <a href="https://dredging.org/media/ceda/org/documents/ceda/dredging_the_facts_-_update_2025.pdf">Dredging the Facts</a>.

Dredging open-in-new

Dredging