The millions of cubic feet of sediment dredged from Cleveland’s shipping channel is now stored in containment vessels just off the shore near Burk Lakefront Airport. Engineer John Hull was hired by the port earlier this year to figure out what to do with the material cleared from the channel to keep freighters moving. He says raising the sides of the containment vessels, if that’s structurally possible and financially feasible, could add 20 years. But selling the sediment rather than storing it is also being considered. Hull says much of what is pulled from the shipping channel is a desirable coarse grained material.

Hull:  “These types of materials could be used in road sub base, they could be used in concrete perhaps if screened, or for use in asphalt, or combined with other materials to make topsoil or a loamy type material. The good news is that the preliminary studies show this is worth looking into more.”