The Reuse Potential and Sustainability of Locally Borrowed Sand in Levees

A conventional civil engineering design optimizes material use based on design loads, with increasing attention to environmental impact. The construction of a sand drain was foreseen as well as a significant release of sand in the preliminary design of the Neder-Betuwe dike reinforcement project in the Netherlands A study has been performed into the reuse potential of the released sand by analyzing the hydraulic conductivity, and into the optimization of the drain geometry. Compared to the preliminary design this circular design approach for the sand drain achieved a return on investment and an emission reduction of 97.5%.