Environmental monitoring at a sediment source site to qualify for reuse

The Interreg FWVL VALSE project aims to promote sustainable dredged sediment reuse. Reuse options and supporting research were investigated during an earlier project. In order to provide waterways operators and related industries, with case studies, full scale pilot tests are planned at Belgian and French sites. A former sediment disposal site of the French Waterways (VNF) at Saint Omer, Northern France, is considered as a potential source of mature sediment (14 to 40 years old) for reuse applications (landscaping, cycle paths, dikes). Sediments are now comparable to soil in terms of water content and mechanical behaviour. Sediment environmental characteristics are assessed with laboratory methods, and its variability with on-site methods..