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Engineers from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers regularly manage dredging on waterways, maintain dams and levees and inspect and construct other forms of infrastructure at Department of Defense (DoD) installations around the world.
For installations such as Fort McNair in Washington, D.C., which is bounded by the Anacostia River and the Washington Channel, regular inspections of seawalls ensure the barrier is stable and strong enough to withstand potential storms and floods. Fort McNair is one of the oldest installations in the DoD, and its seawall is estimated to be nearly 100 years old.
Seawall inspections such as the one at Fort McNair are overseen by USACE’s Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC), which is located in Vicksburg, Mississippi. ERDC has a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Army’s Installation Management Command (IMCOM) to conduct inspections of facilities under the Army Dams and Transportation Infrastructure Program (ADTIP). ERDC has a similar agreement with the U.S. Air Force to conduct inspections under the Air Force Civil Engineer Center/Transportation Networks and Airfield Pavement Branch (AFCEC/COAT) program.
Inspection timetables vary from structure to structure. At Fort McNair, its seawall inspections generally take place every 4-5 years, unless the local Department of Public Works (DPW) requests an out-of-cycle inspection to address a noticeable problem with the seawall.
While the dive inspection around Fort McNair is a rather shallow dive compared to some inspections USACE performs, it still requires the same amount of deliberate planning and safety precautions as their other dives.
“The dive supervisor is responsible for all aspects of each dive evolution and mission,” shared Stephen England, dive coordinator from the USACE Philadelphia District who served as the dive supervisor for this inspection. “They are responsible for developing the Dive Operations Plan (DOP), Emergency Management Plan (EMP), Activity Hazard Analysis (AHA) as well as ensuring the diver’s and equipment certifications are current.”
At the jobsite, the dive supervisor is the primary safety manager, but every dive team member is safety conscious and can inform the supervisor or stop work if something is questionable or needs to be addressed.
It might only be about 10 feet of water at Fort McNair, but there are numerous hazards that surround a diver, including sharp pieces of the seawall itself which could cut into a dive suit or line.
“Before the diver gets in the water, the dive supervisor checks the diver’s equipment to ensure everything is operating properly,” England explained. “Once the diver is in the water, the supervisor controls the air supply to the diver and is in constant communication to ensure the operations are running smoothly and there are no problems that need to be addressed.”
The USACE dive team who inspected the seawall at Fort McNair is part of a larger team that includes members from multiple USACE districts, including Buffalo, Chicago, the ERDC, USACE Headquarters, New England, Philadelphia, and Sacramento. The overall team completed 27 inspection missions in Fiscal Year 2024, spanning 15 states plus Washington, D.C., as well as overseas work in South Korea, the Marshall Islands, and Greenland.
| Date Taken: | 10.11.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 10.11.2024 14:43 |
| Story ID: | 483015 |
| Location: | WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, US |
| Web Views: | 176 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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