Dredge Pipe

Oxford Plastics manufactures leak free hdpe dredge pipe for the marine and hydraulic dredging industries. Our dredge pipe is well suited for salt water environments with high levels of chlorine. Polyethylene is inert to salt water and is highly resistant to the chlorine that is frequently added to water intake lines. Its flexibility and light weight make it easy to handle and install in water environments. If you are a marine or dredging company that specializes in the development of waterways, pond dredging, land reclamation, sludge dewatering, trout ponds and the restoration of lakes, ponds, rivers, marsh or swamp environments, our dredge pipe could be the answer you are looking for.

For DIPS and IPS marine & dredging leak free pipe specifications click here.

Applications: you are on the marine & dredging page


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What is Dredging and Dredge Pipe?
Dredging is the process of removing material (sludge, mud, sand, sediment and toxins) from the bottom of lakes, rivers, lagoons, ponds and other bodies of water. While most dredging is done to maintain or deepen navigation channels, environmental dredging tries to reduce contaminants and the spread of these contaminants to other bodies of water. There are two methods of dredging. There is the mechanical method where you use a closed bucket to remove sediment from the water bottom. There is the hydraulic method where you use a pump to siphon material from the bottom of a harbor, pond or lake into a pipeline and transfer it to another location. A hydraulic dredge acts a lot like a large vacuum cleaner. The dredging system usually consists of a flexible pipe connected at one end to a powerful suction pump. At the other end is a device designed to break up the material to be dredged. The open end of the pipe is lowered to the bottom of the targeted area, where the material to be dredged is mixed with water, pumped up, and then discharged into a barge or directly to a dewatering facility. There the heavy material settles, and the surplus water is allowed to overflow.

Why Choose Polyethylene as a Dredge Pipe Material?
In recent years there has been a constant increase in the number of dredges using hdpe pipe as a discharge pipe. Its popularity as a dredge or discharge pipe is mainly due to a unique combination of material properties making it ideal for hydraulic dredging applications. The piping material that you choose for your dredging project can have an significant impact on both the performance and functional efficiency of the hydraulic dredging process. In a typical dredging pipe system, the dredged material is pumped through the pipeline as slurry. The diameter of the pipe has a direct impact on the efficiency of the hydraulic transport process. While the material of the pipe can vary from simple steel to polyethylene and rubber, the flexibility of hdpe pipe, its flow rates, overall toughness, corrosion resistance are important factors in confined working areas and, particularly, when working in exposed sea areas with significant wave activity. Our dredge pipe is a lightweight, flexible material that if used properly has many advantages over rigid steel pipelines. Its light weight allows for the installation of long lines with minimal labor and less lifting machinery than required for rigid pipe. Long lines of hdpe pipe are possible using portable heat fusion machines which can form joints that are stronger than the pipe itself.

Low Installation Cost
Polyethylene pipe is particularly well suited for dredging pipeline installations. Its flexibility allows it to adapt to river bottoms and underwater trenches without the need for expensive foundations or expensive ball joints or other flexible connectors. It's light weight reduces the need for heavy equipment and makes it easy to assemble on ice and in wet marshy areas. Its buoyancy means that long lengths can be assembled on shore and then floated into position.
Chemically Inert
The combination of air and sea water, can be very corrosive to ordinary metallic piping materials. The unique properties of hdpe pipe, on the other hand, combine to make it particularly well suited for marine, harbor and other sea water applications.
Light Weight
For a given pipe diameter and equivalent performance standard, the weight of our pipe is around a tenth of the weight of concrete pipe and less than one half that of cast iron. This makes it much easier to handle requiring a minimum of heavy equipment. Since its density is about 96% of that for fresh water, and about 94% that for sea water, our dredge floats even when full of water.
Leak Free Joints
Using heat fusion continuous lengths of dredge pipe can be assembled without the need for mechanical fittings. The resultant heat fusion joints are as strong as the pipe and they eliminate the risk of joint leakage.
Flexibility
The flexibility of pe pipe allows it to be gradually sunk and to adapt to the natural topography of water bottom surfaces. This not only means a much simplified sinking procedure, but a flexible pipeline that can be positioned on the water bottom without any trenching or other form of foundational support.
Stress Capacity
Because of its relatively high stress capacity hdpe pipe can adjust to variable external forces generated by tidal wave and current action. Its high stress capacity also allows it to safely shift or bend to accommodate itself to altered bedding that can result by the underscouring that may sometimes result from strong wave and current actions.

Applications of HDPE Dredging Pipe
Other marine applications for which dredge pipe has proven to be very suitable include temporary water surface pipelines, lines installed over marshy soils, and the removal of sludge from municipal and industrial wastewater lagoons. While the main purpose of dredging is to create, maintain or deepen navigation channels, it has slowly gained respect as a method for restoring our water resources and preventing them from becoming polluted. From the reclamation of lakes, rivers, and ponds to the removal of sludge contaminated sediment from industrial and municipal wastewater, dredging has become an environmental priority of communities.

Applications for our hdpe pipe include marine outfalls, marina maintenance, dredging mud and silt, lake, harbors, reservoir construction, marinas, canal, pond, wastewater lagoons, coastal, inland water areas, waterways, beach restoration, urban waterfronts and ports. Other popular uses include:

marine salvage
pond dredging
land reclamation
sludge dewatering
trout ponds
wastewater lagoons
deep-sea dredging
seabed intervention
sludge dewatering
sediment dewatering

If you're thinking about making a long term investment in a dredging system for your lake, local wastewater lagoons or international waterway, harbor or port, don't hesitate to ask any questions you might have.

For more information on Dredging please visit:

Dredging News Online
Central Dredging Association
Dredgeline
IADC - International Assocation of Dredging Companies
World Dredging Magazine
International Dredging Review

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Oxford Plastics Inc. ~ PO Box 119, Oxford Road 6, Embro, Ontario, CANADA, N0J 1J0
Office: 519.423.6232 ~ Fax: 519.423.6057 ~ Toll Free: 1.800.263.0502