Projects

Streamside in collaboration with Freese & Nichols, Inc (FNI), Galveston Park Board, Texas General Land Office (TXGLO), USACE Galveston District, USACE ERDC, and Texas A&M, have developed modeling and performed the first phase of testing for Streamside’s Bedload Collector (Interceptor) technology.  Using a series of the Bedload Sediment Collector, the Coastal and Bi-Directional Collectors, the plan is to implement a three-phase approach on Galveston Island to test, monitor and installed scalable collector systems on East Beach and Stewart Beach as initial sites to capture sediment being washed out along the Gulf coast and pumping back onto the beach for use for replenishment continuously rather than episodically with dredging.

Another part of the testing and evaluation is to test and evaluate the system for use in jettys or channels with heavy sediment loading and deposition from littoral drift that carries sediment along the shore until it reaches a jetty to block flow and create piling of the sediment.  The Coastal Sediment Collectors are used for Bypassing or Backpassing these jettys to either 1) take the sediment out of flow for beneficial reuse or nourishment on the beach; or 2) keep the sediment in the flow by capturing with the collector and pumping across the jetty or channel and redistributing the sediment back into the littoral drift to prevent starving out the beach and causing sediment erosion.

Phase 1 was completed in December of 2017 and all data collection has been compiled by Streamside, USACE, Texas A&M and FNI for final reporting to USACE Galveston District, Galveston Park Board, and TXGLO.  Phase 2 of full-scale engineering and design should be implemented in first to second quarter of 2019 with Phase 3 of full scale implementation to follow.

See attached report for further details on progress to date and the performance and evaluation efforts.

The Silt Collector is a model of the Bedload Sediment Collector, developed by Streamside Technology LLC, that is installed at the bottom of a river or stream and uses a specialized internal bubbler tube to create a barrier wall for the suspended sediments to also be captured in the collector hopper.  This latest collector series for Streamside provides multiple benefits including sediment removal, suspended sediment reduction, nutrient reduction, and water quality improvement all in one system. 

Blanchard River Silt Collector Project – Findlay, OH                                                                                       

 The Silt Collector was installed just upstream of the low-head dam at the pump station for the #1 Reservoir on the Blanchard River south east of Findlay. The City of Findlay played an integral part into the project by providing equipment for installation and removal of the equipment, secure building storage of the air compressor for the bubblers and providing the electrical power for the duration of the project.

A team from Heidelberg University in Tiffin, OH installed instrumentation in the river to provide monitoring and data collection for the duration of the project.   Once all equipment and instruments were set, the system was then turned on and operated from a control panel on the shore.  The material captured in the Silt Collector was pump through a submersible pump installed in the stream bank and discharged to upland settling tanks.  The settling tanks allowed for the fine silts and organics to “fall out” of suspension in the first tank with overflow into the second and third providing additional settling and the water was then pumped back into the Silt Collector.

After going thru the data, certain things stood out. The bubble curtain did provide the ability to capture and remove turbidity (suspended sediments) along with organic particles during lower and normal flows, but as the flows increased during storm events the bubbles lost efficiency.

The Bubble Curtain during normal river flows removed an average of 25% of the turbidity plus substantial amount of small organic mass and silts. We are still waiting for the laboratory test results on the composition of the collected material. I would presume that we will find significant Phosphorus and Nitrates attached to these samples.  

This Silt Collector is advanced and unique for Streamside, where it has proven the capability (when paired with the bubbler system) of removing both suspended and bedload sediment at its natural transport rate.  

Streamside in collaboration and grant funding from the Ohio EPA, Ohio DNR, City of Celina, Mercer County and other instrumental watershed organizations was able to manufacture and install a 30-foot Bedload Sediment Collector (Interceptor) on Beaver Creek in St Marys, OH.  Beaver Creek is a tributary that feeds into (GLSM) Grand Lake St Marys (a 13,000 plus acre man-made shallow lake) that is instrumental in recreation and commerce for the local community.  The Bedload Sediment Collector was part of a “Treatment Train” solution project to addressing the nutrient-rich sediment (Phosphorous and Nitrate) that was feeding into the bays of Grand Lake St Marys, which was a source of feeding the “Blue Green Algae” outbreak that grossly affected GLSM.

The 30-wide Bedload Sediment Collector selectively collects sediment migrating at the bottom of the river as bedload once it falls through its sized grates and into its hopper.  The Sediment Collector is directly connected to a submersible pump in a dry or wet well along the shore where it pumps the sediment slurry collected in the Sediment Collector (Interceptor) to a geo-textile filter bag in this application on shore.  The the filter bag contains the fine sediments collected from the Bedload sediment collector (and in this application the high nutrient-laden sediment), and through an upland french drain system installed, the water is returned back to the creek.

The 30-foot Bedload Sediment Collectors were installed at three different contributing tributaries with heavy loading and high-nutrient content.  The goal of the project was to collect the nutrient-rich sediment and discharge into geo-textile filter bags to retain the finer sediments and allow the water to naturally percolate back into the creek via a “french drain” system.  All three locations had initial success and allowed for remote operation of the Collector Systems.  The total operation time varied between all of the systems between 2-4 years continuous with heavy collection of sediment at the beginning of the project and reductions as operations continued until it was determined by Streamside, the watershed, and ODNR that the tributaries were not continuing to seeing any excess loading of sediment.  The collector systems were pulled from the river in 2015 and used on other project for additional field testing in various applications, as well as used for continued operations of commercial sand mining for beneficial reuse. 

Streamside in collaboration and grant funding from the Ohio EPA, Ohio DNR, City of Celina, Mercer County and other instrumental watershed organizations was able to manufacture and install a 30-foot Bedload Sediment Collector (Interceptor) on Chickasaw Creek in St Marys, OH.  Chickasaw Creek is a tributary that feeds into (GLSM) Grand Lake St Marys (a 13,000 plus acre man-made shallow lake) that is instrumental in recreation and commerce for the local community.  The Bedload Sediment Collector was part of a “Treatment Train” solution project to addressing the nutrient-rich sediment (Phosphorous and Nitrate) that was feeding into the bays of Grand Lake St Marys, which was a source of feeding the “Blue Green Algae” outbreak that grossly affected GLSM.

The 30-wide Bedload Sediment Collector selectively collects sediment migrating at the bottom of the river as bedload once it falls through its sized grates and into its hopper.  The Sediment Collector is directly connected to a submersible pump in a dry or wet well along the shore where it pumps the sediment slurry collected in the Sediment Collector (Interceptor) to a geo-textile filter bag in this application on shore.  The the filter bag contains the fine sediments collected from the Bedload sediment collector (and in this application the high nutrient-laden sediment), and through an upland french drain system installed, the water is returned back to the creek.

The 30-foot Bedload Sediment Collectors were installed at three different contributing tributaries with heavy loading and high-nutrient content.  The goal of the project was to collect the nutrient-rich sediment and discharge into geo-textile filter bags to retain the finer sediments and allow the water to naturally percolate back into the creek via a “french drain” system.  All three locations had initial success and allowed for remote operation of the Collector Systems.  The total operation time varied between all of the systems between 2-4 years continuous with heavy collection of sediment at the beginning of the project and reductions as operations continued until it was determined by Streamside, the watershed, and ODNR that the tributaries were not continuing to seeing any excess loading of sediment.  The collector systems were pulled from the river in 2015 and used on other project for additional field testing in various applications, as well as used for continued operations of commercial sand mining for beneficial reuse. 

Streamside in collaboration and grant funding from the Ohio EPA, Ohio DNR, City of Celina, Mercer County and other instrumental watershed organizations was able to manufacture and install a 30-foot Bedload Sediment Collector (Interceptor) on Barnes Creek in St Marys, OH.  Barnes Creek is a tributary that feeds into (GLSM) Grand Lake St Marys (a 13,000 plus acre man-made shallow lake) that is instrumental in recreation and commerce for the local community.  The Bedload Sediment Collector was part of a “Treatment Train” solution project to addressing the nutrient-rich sediment (Phosphorous and Nitrate) that was feeding into the bays of Grand Lake St Marys, which was a source of feeding the “Blue Green Algae” outbreak that grossly affected GLSM.

The 30-wide Bedload Sediment Collector selectively collects sediment migrating at the bottom of the river as bedload once it falls through its sized grates and into its hopper.  The Sediment Collector is directly connected to a submersible pump in a dry or wet well along the shore where it pumps the sediment slurry collected in the Sediment Collector (Interceptor) to a geo-textile filter bag in this application on shore.  The the filter bag contains the fine sediments collected from the Bedload sediment collector (and in this application the high nutrient-laden sediment), and through an upland french drain system installed, the water is returned back to the creek.

The 30-foot Bedload Sediment Collectors were installed at three different contributing tributaries with heavy loading and high-nutrient content.  The goal of the project was to collect the nutrient-rich sediment and discharge into geo-textile filter bags to retain the finer sediments and allow the water to naturally percolate back into the creek via a “french drain” system.  All three locations had initial success and allowed for remote operation of the Collector Systems.  The total operation time varied between all of the systems between 2-4 years continuous with heavy collection of sediment at the beginning of the project and reductions as operations continued until it was determined by Streamside, the watershed, and ODNR that the tributaries were not continuing to seeing any excess loading of sediment.  The collector systems were pulled from the river in 2015 and used on other project for additional field testing in various applications, as well as used for continued operations of commercial sand mining for beneficial reuse. 

The Bedload Sediment Collector (Bedload Interceptor), was deployed and installed into Fountain Creek, Pueblo, CO after initial testing and evaluation on Fountain Creek and working with the Fountain Creek Watershed, Flood Control, and Greenway District, NRCS, City of Pueblo, Pueblo County, Colorado Water Conservation Board, and other key organizations to make the project happen.  The project was funded through EPA 319 grant, with additional funding through organizations listed above.  Also, a USACE Coastal and Hydraulics Engineering Technical Note (CHETN) was drafted following operations and monitoring of the Bedload Interceptor.

A 30-foot wide Bedload Interceptor was installed upstream of the confluence of the Arkansas River on Fountain Creek as a pilot to evaluate performance of the Bedload Collector as a dredging alternative.  The 30-wide Bedload Sediment Collector selectively collects sediment migrating at the bottom of the river as bedload once it falls through its sized grates and into its hopper.  The Sediment Collector is directly connected to a submersible pump in a dry well along the shore where it pumps the sediment slurry collected in the Sediment Collector to a feed box above a fine-material screw separator on shore.  The separator dewaters the sediment and drops it onto a stacker conveyor for stockpiling for beneficial reuse of the collected material.

The Bedload Interceptor project was established as a pilot program to determine performance.  Based on the evaluation of the sediment collector over a 1-year time frame, the USACE Technical Note reported under peak flow conditions that the Bedload Interceptor displayed a performance of over 8,000 lbs of sediment harvested per minute.  This high collection rate under increase stream flow conditions showed great performance variability in the Beload Interceptor, and continued installations have been recommended.  A full sustaining operations plan would need to be established for additional operations at this site.

The Bedload Sediment Collector, often referred to as (Bedload Interceptor), for the Cuyahoga River became a reality for Streamside, LLC because of collaborative efforts from the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority, Streamside Environmental, LLC, Kurtz Bros. Inc., CH2M Hill, Foth Infrastructure, Great Lakes Construction, and many other organizations with funding and support from Ohio’s Healthy Lake Erie  Fund, Ohio EPA and Ohio DNR.

The 30-foot wide Bedload Sediment Collector selectively collects sediment migrating at the bottom of the river as bedload once it falls through its sized grates and into its hopper.  The Sediment Collector is directly connected to a submersible pump in a dry well along the shore where it pumps the sediment slurry collected in the Sediment Collector to a feed box above a fine-material screw separator on shore.  The separator dewaters the sediment and drops it onto a stacker conveyor for stockpiling for beneficial reuse of the collected material

The installation of the Bedload Collector on the Cuyahoga River was originally a large-scale pilot to prove concept and scalability, and after initial term of the pilot, the 30-foot collector system has been turned over to a private organization with partnership to continue operating and running the system for beneficial reuse.

The operation of the Bedload Sediment Collector commenced in the summer of 2015 with intermittent operation due to fluctuation in river conditions and climate in Northeast Ohio.  The system shuts down and is winterized under freezing temperatures and is restarted in the spring for runoff and warmer weather.  The system also operates intermitently based on the flow of the river in relevance to the sediment load migrating based on the flow, (when minimal to no flow the collector cycles with long delays, whereas when the river is at flood stage with high flow rates, the collector operates continuous).

According to the Port Authority, “the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is responsible for seeing that the channel is dredged and while it costs the federal agency $17 per cubic yard to dredge sediment from the shipping channel, it only costs about $1 per cubic yard to collect sediment in the interceptor.”

Gallery

Cuyahoga-Sediment-collector-installation

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