DOESN T THE MAINTENANCE MATERIAL KILL THE SEAGRASSES?
Models of the Laguna Madre seagrasses growth and survival, and the impacts of placement on or near them, were developed by the Waterways Experiment Station of the USACE, Texas A&M University, and the University of Texas Marine Science Institute. These models were verified based on studies of actual placement of dredged material in the lower Laguna Madre near seagrass beds, which found limited impacts to seagrasses, in both space and time. The models showed that seagrasses could recover from direct burial id the sediments burying them were less than three inches deep and turbidity levels that would affect them were limited to about three months or less than one mile of the placement area. Additional studies were conducted for the USACE, at the recommendation of the Interagency Coordination Team (ICT). These projects studied seagrass beds, benthic organisms, and fish around existing dredged material placement areas. The complete reports of all of these studies are included at the Studies
