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That time a silt curtain tore on the Columbia River
We were doing a maintenance dredge near Longview when a section of the silt curtain gave way. Some guys say you should always double-anchor them, but others think that's overkill for a routine job. What's your standard procedure for curtain setup?
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violafox3mo ago
Oh man, that "overkill for a routine job" line hits home. I used to be on that team, thinking a single anchor was fine for calm conditions. Then I watched a whole curtain go on what was supposed to be an easy day. The current just grabbed it. Now I double-anchor every single time, no exceptions. It takes a few extra minutes and saves a huge headache. I'd rather be safe than explain a plume to the regulators.
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patricia_kelly3mo ago
But what if the extra time causes a bigger delay?
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lane.joel19d ago
Yeah, why do we always think "ah, it'll be fine" until it actually isn't? I feel you on this one. I had a buddy who lost a whole section of curtain on the Willamette because he thought a single anchor was enough for a slow moving day. The second a barge wake rolled through, it was like the thing just surrendered to the current. Now he double anchors everything, even on jobs where it feels stupid. It's that one time you don't that bites you, and regulators don't care how "routine" you thought it was.
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