BP Sand Shark provides courtesy cleanup before Florida dredging
Holiday Isle, FL – Holiday Isle beaches are clean and have been for some time. However, they will soon be deep cleaned thanks to BP’s mechanical beach cleaner the “Sand Shark.” The Sand Shark is a $300,000 sand-sifting device developed by BP, which has been successfully cleaning beaches in Alabama and Florida.
BP will launch the Sand Shark on Holiday Isle beaches in order for the city to have a clean foundation for a previously scheduled dredging project. The Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) recently allowed Holiday Isle officials to move forward with a plan to bring in new sand. This emergency sand project will allow for 140,000 cubic yards of sand to be dredged and placed on 2,600 feet of beach on Holiday Isle, from the western property boundary of Destin Pointe to the eastern property boundary of Holiday Surf and Racquet Club. After a satisfactory cleaning by the Sand Shark, BP and the Coast Guard will “release” the beach and the dredge can move forward.
The Sand Shark digs up to a foot-and-a-half into the sand and lifts the sand onto a conveyor belt, then dumps it through a sifting device. BP has one Sand Shark in service with four units on order. The second device is slated to arrive in September.
The Sand Shark was developed and designed by BP engineers especially for the Deepwater Horizon Spill Response. Among its many features: it runs on hydraulic fuel, reaches contaminants as deep as 18 inches, and sifts wet as well as dry sand.
To see video of the Sand Shark, click here.
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