System and method for dewatering slurries

A dewatering system for separating a slurry into solid material and effluent water, said dewatering system comprising:

• a plurality of support frames arranged to enclose an interior space of said dewatering system, wherein the interior space is configured to receive the slurry;
• and
• geo-fabric material positioned on a portion of said support frames, wherein said geo-fabric material is configured to filter the slurry received within the interior space, such that effluent water permeates through said geo-fabric material and is discharged from the interior space,
• wherein two adjacent support frames from said plurality of support frames present a gate assembly, wherein each of said support frames of said gate assembly include at least one wheel on a base of said support frame, wherein said wheels allow said support frames to rotate open to provide access to the interior space of said dewatering system.

A method of dewatering a slurry dredged from a source of water, wherein the slurry is dewatered to form a solid material and effluent water, said method comprising the steps of:

• (a) providing a dewatering system that includes a plurality of support frames arranged to enclose an interior space of the dewatering system, geo-fabric material positioned on a portion of the support frames, and a dump door assembly associated with at least one of the support frames, wherein the dump door assembly comprises a plurality of hatches;
• (b) adding a slurry to the interior space of the dewatering system;
• and
• (c) separating the slurry into solid material and effluent water,
• wherein during the separating of step (c), the solid material settles to a bottom of the interior space of the dewatering system, and the effluent water is discharged from the dewatering system by being filtered through the geo-fabric material and by passing through an open hatch of the dump door assembly.