Sediment management and dredging strategy for Port Hope Harbour, Ontario, Canada
At a glance
Historically, Port Hope Harbour in Port Hope, Ontario, has experienced sedimentation which significantly interferes with boating traffic. Investigations of the mechanisms and pathways of sediment transport both along the Lake Ontario shoreline and down the Ganaraska River have been limited.
Our response
On behalf of the Municipality of Port Hope, GHD committed to identifying the sediment sources, sinks, and dominate sediment transport processes to inform short-term management of sediment accumulation at the harbour entrance and aid in developing a viable plan for long-term sediment management with the goal of maintaining a navigational waterway.
The Port Hope Harbour is a complex hydrodynamic environment where waves, currents, and lake levels interact to determine the patterns of sediment transport within the context of the existing morphology and sources of sediment. Due to the complexity of the environment, GHD combined a field based and modelling approach to determine the active sediment processes. This type of approach is most suitable when continuous and long term hydrodynamic and sediment transport data is not available.
The geomorphic assessment was used to develop concepts to address the sedimentation issue. These concepts were evaluated based on criteria such as cost, feasibility and potential impacts to aquatic habitat. Short-term and long-term dredging strategies were presented, which considered input from the public and representatives of the Municipality of Port Hope.