Integrated Disposal Studies in San Francisco Bay

Denes, Thomas; Tong, Lester; Walls, Brian; ,

Integrated Disposal Studies in San Francisco Bay

by Thomas Denes, US Army Corps of Engineers, San, Francisco, CA, USA,
Lester Tong, US Army Corps of Engineers, San, Francisco, CA, USA,
Brian Walls, US Army Corps of Engineers, San, Francisco, CA, USA,

Document Type: Proceeding Paper

Part of: Coastal Zone '87

Abstract:

The United States Army Corps of Engineers is studying the accumulation of dredged material at the Alcatraz Disposal Site in San Francisco Bay. Alcatraz was chosen for aquatic disposal because of its strong tidal currents and was not intended to accumulate dredge spoils. Flows were expected to transport most of the material disposed at the site out through the Golden Gate to the Pacific Ocean. The capacity of the site to disperse material has been overburdened by the quantity disposed and a significant loss of depth at the site has occurred. Because the Alcatraz Disposal Site is located within the eastbound shipping lane, continued loss of depth poses a navigation hazard. As the site is the only available disposal site in the central bay, its potential closure would greatly affect the dredging and dredge disposal activities in San Francisco Bay. The San Francisco District of the Corps of Engineers has undertaken these studies in order to determine the capacity of the Alcatraz Disposal Site to accept dredge spoils and to gain insight into effective site management policies that may be used to extend the future use of the site.

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