25 years dredged material policy in Hamburg
Type:
Presented during:
WODCON XVII: "Dredging in a Sensitive Environment" - 2004, Hamburg, Germany
Authors:
A. Netzband, and G. Werner
Abstract: For hundreds of years dredging has taken place in the Port of Hamburg to maintain water depths. In the second half of the last century, the contamination of sediments in the Elbe at times reached very high levels, particularly as a result of inadequate effluent treatment in former Eastern Europe. Until German reunification in 1989, Hamburg knew little about the causes of contamination in the dredged material from the Elbe, let alone had the opportunity to influence policy and eradicate these.
Against this background Hamburg has developed and implemented a highly technical dredged material management concept. Today, the disposal of dredged material is multi-faceted, with relocation in the river being the most important solution. There is still around 1 million m3 of dredged material to be handled on land at great expense; further details of this are included in the contribution by (Detzner and Knies, 2004).
Although 25 years ago public discussions also contributed to the development of this policy, today legal requirements create a narrow framework. The requirements are frequently those of the European Union. The Water Framework Directive may present a framework for solving the remaining problems of contamination.
To ensure that dredged material can be handled properly in the future as well, joint efforts by those responsible for ports and waterways are necessary.
Keywords: dredged material, Hamburg, treatment, beneficial use, confined disposal, relocation