Utility Serving San Juan Islands Proposes to Harness Tidal Power
estimates that the tidal turbine would have a maximum generating capacity of approximately 2 megawatts with an annual output of 4.6–5.6 gigawatt hours annually — able to power 400 homes.As part of the permitting process, OPALCO anticipates state and federal interagency engagement with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the National Marine Fisheries Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, the Washington Department of Ecology, the Washington Department of Natural Resources and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.Once the necessary environmental
How Do You Build Tunnels and Bridges Underwater?
history. After leading the sack of Rome in 410 C.E., Visigoth king Alaric died on his way home. In order to protect his magnificent burial from grave robbers, Alaric’s people temporarily diverted a local river to bury him and his loot in the riverbed before letting the river rush back over.The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers used a cofferdam to hold back the water during construction of the Olmsted Locks and Dam on the Ohio River. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Digital Visual Library, CC BYNowadays, a project like this would use a cofferdam: a temporary, watertight enclosure that can be pumped dry to
USACE Survey & Mapping Employees Awarded for USV Innovation
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ employees in the New York District’s Survey and Mapping Branch, Operations Division, have been recognized with the 2023 Innovation of the Year Award from Army Corps Headquarters in Washington, D.C., a national honor recognizing outstanding accomplishments in engineering forwarding the mission and serving the Nation.A team of 36 employees planned, designed and built SURVEYOR AMY, a 6.5-foot unmanned craft that can travel at 16 knots and collects hydrographic survey data ─ measuring the physical features of bodies of water and adjacent land areas, including
USACE Working to Prevent Saltwater from Rising Up the Mississippi
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New Orleans District is working to delay upriver progression of salt water from the Gulf of Mexico by augmenting the sill initially constructed in July 2023.Construction is underway to increase the existing underwater sill from a depth of -55 feet to a depth of -30 feet. A 620-foot-wide navigation lane will be kept to a depth of -55 feet to ensure deep-draft shipping continues along the nation’s busiest inland waterway.USACE initially constructed the underwater barrier sill in July 2023 to create an artificial basin to delay the ingress of salt water
USACE Mobile District Adds New Survey Vessel
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Mobile District and Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway Development Authority held a ceremony to officially welcome a new survey vessel to its fleet in Columbus, Miss., April 28, 2023.The Miss Agnes, built by Theodore, Ala. based Silver Ships, is a custom 26-foot multibeam and single beam capable marine survey vessel that features an enclosed center console, a three-monitor survey station, and an air conditioner unit that is paired with a generator. Powered by twin 200-horsepower Mercury SeaPro outboards and includes a double jack plate which simultaneously controls both
New Survey Vessel Delivered to USACE Portland Distric
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Portland District officially welcomed its newest hydrographic survey vessel, the Beeman, with a dedication and christening ceremony in Newport, Ore., on January 11.The Beeman, whose name honors the legacy of Ogden Beeman, chief of the Portland District’s Waterways Navigation Branch from 1960-1967, replaces and continues the work of the district’s aging vessel, the Patterson, which surveyed Oregon’s coastal entrances for 22 years.“This is a vessel with a critical mission, as dredging and structural operations and maintenance can’t
Corps Building Underwater Sill to Halt Saltwater Intrusion in Mississippi River
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New Orleans District began construction of an underwater sill October 11, 2022, across the bed of the Mississippi River channel to prevent further upriver progression of salt water from the Gulf of Mexico.The Mississippi River’s volume of water has fallen to a level that allows salt water to intrude upstream. Saltwater from the Gulf of Mexico moves upriver in a wedge shape that may stretch up approximately 20 miles from the bottom to the surface of the river.To stop the salt water from moving upriver and reduce the risk to freshwater intakes, the New Orleans
Army Corps, Maryland DOT to Commence $4 Billion Chesapeake Bay Restoration Project
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Baltimore District, and the Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT) signed a Project Partnership Agreement (PPA) for the $4 billion Mid-Chesapeake Bay ecosystem restoration project at MDOT Headquarters, August 23, 2022.The PPA – signed by Col. Estee Pinchasin, Baltimore District commander, and MDOT Secretary James F. Ports, Jr. – outlines the roles, responsibilities, and financial obligations for both partners for the restoration of both James and Barren islands in Dorchester County, beneficially re-using material dredged from the Port of
Silver Ships Delivers Survey Vessel to US Army Corps of Engineers
Alabama shipbuilder Silver Ships announced it has delivered a new marine surveying vessel for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Venice Sub Office in Venice, La. The 49-foot Tobin is the latest expansion in Silver Ships’ Endeavor series of workboats and is the largest marine surveying vessel of its series.Custom designed for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to hydrographically map the mouth of the Mississippi River, the mission-specific vessel will allow researchers to accurately and effectively obtain and document data on the rapidly changing waters in the Mississippi River. With the intent
February 2025
