Minimizing the transport of excavated sand lowers construction costs.


Tidmarsh, February 2016: the earthen berm in which these concrete spillways were embedded had to be dug out and hauled away before the concrete could be demolished. The sand from the berm was used to fill a portion of the old stream channel in an adjacent bog cell to the north.

These concrete spillways were embedded in an earthen berm. They needed to be unearthed before the concrete structures could be demolished.


Comments

posted on January 20, 2025

In addition to re-using sand near where it is excavated, projects should incorporate locations for sand islands on project areas that have higher elevations, allowing more sand to be removed from the lowland areas.

posted on June 25, 2025

Microtopography creates pit and mounds across the growing surface; this results in variable soil moisture. In contrast, restoration projects are increasingly scraping sand from more areas to to insure the growing surface is sufficiently wet to encourage the development of wetland plant communities across large areas. In order to do this, these projects sets "depositional areas", areas where additional sand can be added. Windswept on Nantucket provides a great example of this.

posted on June 25, 2025

Agreed. Newer projects like Windswept are showing us how to make upland islands, blend wetlands into uplands, and help smooth transitions for easier movement for wildlife. Lowering excavation and hauling work also lowers C emissions from these projects.

posted on June 25, 2025

"Don't pay to move dirt twice." Jim McLoughlin

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