Can dredged canal sediments be used for flood defence as part of the Scottish circular economy?

Dredged sediments from maintenance work on Scotland’s network of four operational canals are an underutilised resource. This poster will present progress that has been made to investigate different remedial approaches to improving the geotechnical properties of dredged canal sediments while addressing any residual issues related to industrial impacts and residual contamination.
Dredged sediments from maintenance work on Scotland’s network of four operational canals are an underutilised resource. It divides roughly into two groups with different challenges for reuse or recycling: In the Highlands, the Caledonian and Crinan Canals, immediate reuse of typically clean material is largely presented by remoteness and the associated challenges of dewatering for transport, materials separation and the infrequency of any receiving engineering works; In contrast, in the Lowland Forth and Clyde or Union Canals, the legacy of industrial activity requires detailed testing, dewatering and recycling methods to be developed and treatment technologies to extract secondary feedstocks suitable for use from a linearly dispersed source.
Scottish Canals and the University of Strathclyde have joined a consortium of 7 key European academic and industrial partners as part of the EU-funded Interreg NWE SURICATES Project - Sediment Uses as Resources in Circular And Territorial Economies (http://www.nweurope.eu/projects/project-search/suricates-sediment-uses-as-resources-in-circular-and-territorial-economies/). Using a series of pilots and trials the SURICATES consortium will demonstrate the potential for safe and effective reuse options of this potential resource, including sediment nourishment, use in concrete, pozzolanic mixtures, or phyto-conditioning and bio-engineering of soil for restoration and reclamation.