Reply With QuoteObviously you are still sore about you spawning barra theory..Originally Posted by Camhawk88
Good to see your useful input again Dan- maybe why job market is tough mate?
Phill, Dredge spoil dumping is far from impact neutral of course any human intervention in the marine environment has an impact- even you wetting a line mate.
However we as humans go about our business making ports roads etc. and unless you want to withdraw from civilisation you need to accept your part of responsibility towards environmental impacts. This is why greenies so often fly off at things they dont know much about to appease their consciences.
Ok so dredge dumping is moving sediment from one spot to another and the dumping of it does smother the benthic infauna in that area which has an impact on the food chain. You mention all of the chemicals etc- the great majority of dredge spoil is shipping channels that hold the same sediment composition as the waters around it- and very similar to the areas they are dumped. There is generally a negligible net transport of toxiants. Dredging out old port swing basins etc is more fraught with danger as these are areas that have a build up of heavy metals, hydrocarbons, dioxins etc. These types of dredgings (such as is going on in Gladstone atm) are rarely if ever dumped at sea in Australia and if it is it is thoroughly tested before dumping. Gladstone pumps that spoil into bunded areas for dewatering and it is then tested to determine how it can be used.
Will the spoil remain exactly where it was dumped? Most of it will but some of it will be transported by currents, tides etc- the same vectors that create the need for maintenance dredging. This transport has little environmental effect as it happens in small volumes and is no different from sediment transport and deposition from non dumping sites.
Dumping sites these days are specifically selected to minimise harm. Usually on areas of small ecological value- so not close to reefs, seagrass beds, fern beds etc. Old sites perhaps were not so selective however once dumping has occured on a site the benthic infauna composition adapts and recovers much quicker than new sites so it is not sensible to move to a new site. However knowing the surrounding ground around where the Townsville spoil sites are - there is little chance that they were on fertile shoals or weed beds anyway.
Where possible dredge spoil is used as fill on port projects for reclaimation etc. But to truck the sort of volumes you are looking at from maintenance dredging would probably create more overall waste of resources and environmental impacts.
Bottom line is that while yes dredge dumping does have an impact, the dredge spoil dumping of the ports in question in the article will have simply no measurable effect on the surrounding GBR and the story is clearly a beat up.
Obviously you are still sore about you spawning barra theory..
Of course it just gets better and better..
Is that why that mining guy wanted to dump his tailings dumps in the sea?
Not sore about anything- it bothers me not that you cant comprehend plain English buddy.
Go and have a re-read of it, work it out, then do everyone a favour and forget about the past and try to base you comments on the thread at hand and if you have nothing useful to add then don't type.
That is all.
You mean Clive Palmer?Of course it just gets better and better..
Is that why that mining guy wanted to dump his tailings dumps in the sea?
Again comprehension is a challenge dan. The first highlighted section is maintenance of shipping channels. The second is dredging swing basins. Very different as I have clearly pointed out.
such intuition..
What do you actually want people to comprehend? Your saying that nothing like Terra-firma or anthroposal soils make it to the sea?
Great posts, thanks for the laugh.
Dan
Feel free to offer your take on the matter Dan- I'm sure it would be much more insightful. You have plenty of time on your hands buddy- go hard.
Great answer, lacks some substance but I'm sure its the best you could do without Google.Feel free to offer your take on the matter Dan- I'm sure it would be much more insightful. You have plenty of time on your hands buddy- go hard.
Dan
Camhawk
Good informative posts.
Dunno whats up Dan's nose...... Whatever it is must hurt, though.........
I think the word "spoil" is what cunjures up images of bad stuff for many people. The reality is that most dregding material from channels is, as you said, very clean and much the same as the areas to which it is relocated. And yes, there is no such thing as "no impact" from that process - it impacts the area dredged, and it impacts the area the material is transferred to. Needs to be done carefully.
It is areas such as marinas and industrial harbours where the material dredged can have abnormal concentrations of contaminants. Ask the people at Manly harbour how difficlut it is to get permits to dispose of material from there!
At the same time, there have been efforts to get the channel into the William St ramp at Cleveland dredged for many years and the single biggest hurdle has been getting EPA approval to take the spoil to the long established Mud Island spoil grounds. You know - thats the area where many guys here on Ausfish catch so many of those snapper........grassies, cod etc....
Of course the EPA are applying the same thinking to the Cleveland channel as they are to Manly harbour, but the two simply cant be compared because there are no moorings in Cleveland and the spoil that comes out will be uncontaminated by anti-fouling etc as a result.
So dreding not only benefits businesses, it benefits us recreational boaties as well. Gee, im sick of bumping rocks in that channel at low low tides, as I am sure that many other boaties and the VMR Raby Bay team are as well.
Hey Phill - want to see how well spoil stays where its put? Go just off Cleveland point to the spoil groungs where Raby Bay spoil went and youll see it on your sounder quite clearly. if you cant find it pm me and ill give you a gps mark right on top of the peak of the mountain!
And as anyone who knows the area will attest, the current that rips through there with the tides every day is quite amazing! But 30 years after it was placed, still there!
Note to self: Don't argue with an idiot. They will only bring you down to their level and beat you with experience....
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