The Eastern and Gulf seaboards of the United States are an immensely rich coastal resource. Much of this coastline is developed, with beachfront residences, state and national parks or resort properties. The East Coast faces the Atlantic Ocean, and is unprotected from the ravages of winter storms, and both the eastern seaboard and the coasts of the Gulf of Mexico are exposed for one of the most-active hurricane environments.

On average, eight to eleven tropical storms strike Eastern beaches each year, causing dramatic beach erosion and property damage. Exacerbating the erosion caused by storms are jetties and breakwaters that redirect the natural flow of sand away from the shore, thus depriving beaches of natural sources of nourishment. Faced with such erosion, property owners and local, state and federal governments confront a choice. They can allow the erosion to proceed unchecked and suffer the deterioration of property and infrastructure, or they can opt to restore the beaches to protect their capital investment.

Since the first beach nourishment project, coastal engineers have had to seek and identify sources of sand to be used to restore eroded beaches. Their task is to balance economics with the safety of environmental resources such as reefs, plant life, and other habitats of aquatic animals and plants. Adding to that continually growing list of factors is the safety of threatened or endangered species themselves: whales, manatees, turtles, and various species of birds and fish. Considering all these factors has resulted in modifying the methods of dredging and limiting construction to periods when the work can be accomplished with minimal environmental impact.

To meet the requirements of this complex and challenging market, GLD&D has assembled the largest fleet of diversified beach restoration equipment in the United States. Over the years the company has built new dredges, modified existing equipment, and invented solutions to comply with the ever-changing environmental restrictions imposed on the beach restoration market.

GLD&D operates an array of marine equipment designed and adapted to effectively manage the tasks and challenges of beach restoration. Ocean-certified hydraulic cutter suction dredges and trailing suction hopper dredges are traditionally the prime movers used to mine sand for restoring beaches. They are augmented by specialized ocean-certified equipment:

· Jack-up and floating booster pumps to aid in pumping sand through submerged and floating pipelines

· The industry's largest and most efficient material barges for transporting sand long distances

· Barge loaders for efficient loading of material barges

· Submerged and floating pipelines

All this equipment is designed and operated to enhance production and assure the safety of GLDD's workers, maritime traffic, and the public that frequents the beaches as they undergo restoration.

Of equal importance to this versatile fleet of equipment is the personnel who direct and operate it. GLDD's experienced personnel recognize the need to solve problems as they arise in a manner that balances environmental concerns with the economics of the situation and the needs of the communities involved.

Selecting Equipment

Most frequently, the location and character of the borrow area is the chief factor in determining what equipment to use. Generally, if the beach site is within 20,000 ft of the borrow area, the most economical dredging method entails use of cutter suction dredges pumping material through pipelines. For more distant borrow areas, trailing suction hopper dredges mine the sand, sail to a hook-up point, and discharge the material through pipelines to the beach, sometimes using booster pumps to extend the pumping distance.