Manatee Harbor is located in the southeast section of Tampa Bay in Manatee County, Florida. Port Manatee handles approximately 9.4 million tons of cargo a year, placing it among the top four cargo ports in Florida. This evaluation considered maintenance dredging of the entrance channel, berthing areas, and a proposed harbor expansion project for Port Manatee.
The harbor and entrance channel are dredged approximately every 3 years, with an estimated maximum quantity of 800,000 cubic yards of shoal material. The project depth is ‑40 feet mean lower low water plus 2 feet allowable overdepth. The widths of the project vary from 375 feet in the new work area to 500 feet in Cut B of the Tampa entrance channel.
ANAMAR was contracted by USACE to perform sampling activities for a Section 103 sediment evaluation. The purpose of this project was to collect and analyze sediment, site water, and elutriate samples from specified project locations for physical, chemical, and toxicological parameters. The objective was to determine the suitability of the material for ocean disposal in the Tampa ODMDS as required under the Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act of 1972 (MPRSA). Dredging in the project area is needed to ensure continued navigability and maintenance of the Manatee Harbor entrance channel and expansion of port facilities. The field work consisted of two simultaneous efforts: terrestrial coring and aquatic grab sample and water collection. ANAMAR coordinated and directed operations for this project and worked closely with USACE to design sampling and analysis schemes, perform sample collection, subcontract vibracoring services and laboratory analyses, and prepare final report deliverables. ANAMAR reviewed all data and produced a report summarizing the results of the physical, chemical, and toxicological analysis of sediment, elutriate, water, and tissue samples of the proposed dredge material collected from the project area.