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Houston Ship Channel needs dredging after huge sediment dump from Hurricane Harvey flooding

The Houston Ship Channel is in serious need of dredging after the huge disruption caused by Hurricane Harvey, it was revealed at the Houston Port Commission’s monthly meeting.

Flooding from Harvey dumped tons of silt in the Channel and in Galveston Bay.

Even though shipping has resumed – with a few restrictions – after the hurricane, the dredging is needed to “accommodate normal commerce at its authorized depth and width” said the commission’s Chairman Janiece Longoria.

There has also been significant shoaling at the port’s major terminals, Barbours Cut and Bayport.

The 52-mile Channel is one of the world’s busiest commercial waterways, linking the Port of Houston’s numerous petrochemical facilities to the Gulf of Mexico through Galveston Bay.

Donal Scully

With 28 years experience writing and editing for newspapers in the UK and Hong Kong, Donal is now based in California from where he covers the Americas for Splash as well as ensuring the site is loaded through the Western Hemisphere timezone.
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