Savannah Harbor Dredging Impacts Evaluation

GEI was retained by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in the Savannah District of Georgia to evaluate the potential effect of dredging the Savannah Harbor channel on an adjacent riverbank owned by a private corporation.

The District planned to undertake the dredging to deepen the harbor-shipping channel. The corporate property owner sought an injunction to stop the dredging, claiming it would cause a slope failure that would endanger their facilities.

GEI completed field investigations, laboratory analyses, strength determinations, and stability analyses, and assisted the Corps drillers in performing standard penetration tests and sampling, field vane tests, and undisturbed sampling of the harbor soils. Sampling was completed using barge-mounted and land-based drill rigs. GEI measured river velocity profiles at various locations and ship-generated wave heights as part of the field data collection. Based on slope stability analyses, we concluded that the slope would be stable after dredging.

GEI staff also provided expert testimony in a court deposition concerning the field data collection, laboratory testing, analyses, and evaluation of the effect of dredging on the slope stability. The court allowed the dredging to take place. The dredging has been completed with no impact to the facilities of the private corporation.