Dredging & Marsh Buggies Role Mitigating Coastal Erosion in Louisiana

Coastal erosion (or the process where land is lost to the sea due to waves, currents, tides, glaciers, storms) is a big problem in many areas of the world, including Louisiana. Every year, the United States experiences $500 million in coastal property losses that damage structures and land.

Beaches can be completely lost, to which the US spends roughly $150 million to replenish, and the loss of coastal wetlands is about 80,000 a year, which is precious habitat to many types of animals.

Louisiana is often subject to coastal erosion being a coastline state. Throw in the fact that the mighty Mississippi runs through the state and empties its water into the Gulf of Mexico. Louisiana faces a constant battle to protect its marshes, swamps, and barrier islands.

Over the past century, Louisiana has lost a large part of its wetlands and coastline, resulting in increasing efforts to help mitigate coastal erosion.

Let's examine how dredging and marsh buggies are helping in the battle to save the coasts of Louisiana.

1. What is Beach/Coastal Erosion
2. Why is Coastal Erosion Problematic?
3. Can It Be Helped?

What is Beach/Coastal Erosion

Imagine a beach. When the waves crash, they deposit sand and sediment onto the beach. When they retract, they take with them sand from the shore. This is a natural process and doesn’t damage the shore. However, when something like a tropical storm or hurricane comes through, the waves become significantly more powerful and disrupt the even distribution of sand and sediment. One of the most common effects of these powerful waves is an eroded beach and dispersed sandbars. As the coastline erodes, problems begin to arise.

Why is Coastal Erosion Problematic?

There are several reasons why coastal erosion is problematic. First, as the coast erodes, the waves come closer and closer to the land and infrastructure surrounding the ocean. This puts coastal towns and cities at risk of damage. In the event that a storm sweeps through that area, the town is going to be much more vulnerable as the waterline is dangerously close to all the roads, buildings, and homes.

Coastal erosion can also have a negative effect on the habitats of protected wildlife and plants. The dunes surrounding many shorelines are home to fragile habitats that are at an especial risk if coastal erosion continues to creep towards land. As the waves devastate the dunes, beaches, and other landscapes close to the coastline, the plants and animals are at risk of displacement, which can eventually lead to endangerment and extinction if left unchecked.

What we’ve also been noticing is the effects of ocean acidifications. The beaches are home to microbiomes which are especially sensitive to changes in pH. Microbiomes, while seemingly invisible, are essential to life, decomposition, and other natural processes. As acidic ocean waves crash into dunes and other habitats, these biomes are at risk of dying.

Can It Be Helped?

Coastal erosion isn’t a death sentence for the beaches and dunes around the world. Every person counts towards making a difference and helping, and our dredging company urges everyone to become more knowledgeable about this unfortunate phenomenon and how to become engaged in action.

It’s speculated that with rising ocean and atmospheric temperatures induced by global climate change, the intensity and frequency of storms will also rise. Because the waves brought on by intense storms is one of the main instigators of coastal erosion, we can do our part to try to erase that part of the question. Do your part to save energy, recycle, and choose products that don’t leave a heavy carbon footprint when produced. Even the most simple things can help.

How Dredging and Marsh buggies are helping to Mitigate Coastal Erosion in Louisiana

As we all know, dredging is the process of removing dirt, sediment, and other debris in waterways from one location to another. For the most part, people think of dredging as the process of digging out canals and channels to help facilitate ships' journey.

However, dredging can also be used to move dirt and sediment from one body of water to another. Similarly, known as soft erosion control and beach nourishment, sand may be dredged from one area and moved to beaches in order to replace the sand that has been lost due to erosion.

Dredging for the win

Luckily, dredging can now be used to reverse engineer the process of erosion. Although not as efficient as Mother Nature, beach nourishment and other soft erosion control methods are helping in the fight.

The use of marsh buggies has facilitated the dredging process while assisting in the transportation of machinery and supplies to coastal waterways and marshlands where coastal erosion restoration projects take place.

Choose U.S. Aqua Services for your coastal errosion needs

U.S. Aqua Services offers the best dredging equipment for your coastal erosion and dredging needs. We stay abreast of all the changes in technology in order to offer you top-notch machinery that will get the job done quickly and efficiently. We understand that you need to stay on-time and on-budget, which is why we only use the best dredging equipment for the job.

Our team has over 100 years of combined dredging experience, meaning that if something unexpected happens during a job, we are able to quickly solve the issue and get moving again. We understand the importance of our job, and we ensure we are fully prepared with hard work and dedication to ensure your success.

 Our dredging systems have the capabilities of dredging up to 1000 ft of water. If you are interested in our dredging or dredging equipment rental services, contact a team member today!

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About U.S. Aqua Services

U.S. Aqua Services was created to support the dredging process in advancing commerce and responding to its many challenges. To accomplish this, our dredging company assembled an exceptional group of experienced individuals and a diverse inventory of dredge equipment and excavator dredge pumps.

We offer dredging equipment rental services so you can have access to the latest and greatest in dredging technology without having to pay to maintain it, transport, and store it, along with dewatering services.

With an emphasis on mobility, dependability, durability, diversity, efficiency, and safety, our dredging rental company can ensure that our different types of dredging systems are easy to move through any terrain and can work in the most rugged and remote environments. Our multi-function hydraulic systems are built with jetting and mechanical options that can efficiently move loose sediment or stiff layers of clay.

US Aqua services also and maintains a ready fleet of amphibious equipment capable of completing dredging projects in some of the harshest and most remote environments. U.S Aqua is also the dealer for Louisiana of the amphibious vehicle Fat Truck. No matter the size or scope of the job or the remoteness of your work location, you can rely on Fat Truck’s industrial off-road utility vehicles to get the job done right.