NCI performed a study to assess the feasibility of dredging the Semeniuk Slough. The tidal channel is an urbanized waterway that discharges directly into the Lower Santa Ana River wetlands. The scope of NCI’s services included field surveying, sediment characterization, preliminary engineering, and strategic planning tasks. Technical analysis was directed to quantify the limits of dredging work necessary to restore the channel and determine the most economically feasible method to dispose of the accumulated sediment.

A key component of the study was providing the City with recommendations on how best to implement and fund a project. NCI analyzed possible avenues of inter-agency coordination that might be available to the City to expedite the project and reduce the financial burden of dredging and future maintenance. NCI is currently assisting the City to move forward with a preferred dredging plan that incorporates innovative eco-system restoration measures and provisions for long-term maintenance.