What's in the Display Case?

Settling Columns

Are you wondering about the 7-foot-tall columns in the lobby’s display case in Hart Crowser’s Seattle office? They are settling columns, which are used to determine sediment settling properties. This equipment is used to evaluate the settling behavior of dredged sediments in a containment area. In other words, the columns help show how much water will remain in the sediments and how much will drain out. Column settling tests help determine how big to make an impoundment that will hold dredged sediment.

Hart Crowser’s laboratory is one of the few in the nation that offers a full suite of sediment quality tests, uses the most current US Army Corps of Engineers protocols, and interprets the data to help you in the permitting and design process. Our testing services are used to characterize sediment material for dredging, in-water management, and disposal projects.