Vegetation Dredger & Aquatic Weed Harvesters
As lakes and other waterways experience an increase in nitrogen levels from fertilizer runoff or high nutrient levels, vegetation can start to appear in mass quantities and result in a state of eutrophication. This process results in a decline in oxygen and the eventual death of the local fish and wildlife population, which depend on the lake to sustain life. Vegetation dredging is used for waterway maintenance to alleviate this problem.
If you would like to speak with someone about Versi-Dredge equipment and your weed harvesting and vegetation dredging needs, call (866) 483-0014 or click “Get Started” below to tell us about your project.
IMS Versi-Dredges Harvesting Weeds & Vegetation Around The World
An IMS 5012 LP Versi-Dredge with WeedMaster vegetation cutterhead efficienty cuts and pumps 3m tall reeds to shore after the material is shredded with the aggressive cutting system.
An IMS 5012 LP Versi-Dredge cleans dense cattails and mixed vegetation from the Kafue River in Zambia.
An IMS 5012 LP Versi-Dredge removes mixed vegetation from a 25 kilometer irrigation canal in Angola. The project was such a success that the government purchased a second unit.
The WeedMaster cuts through a wall of vegetation on a project in West Africa.
An IMS 5012 LP Versi-Dredge plows thorugh dense water hyacinths at a hydro-power dam in Ecuador.
A Model 5012 LP Versi-Dredge with WeedMaster Cutterhead and Hyacinths Rake eats its way through dense water hyacinths in Thailand.
A 5012 LP Versi-Dredge operating at a sugar refinery in Mozambique tears through mixed vegetation near the processing plant.
A 5012 LP Versi-Dredge removes dense mud and vegetation on an environmental project in Canada.
A 5012 LP Versi-Dredge with WeedMaster cuts through dense vegetation in a clay lined pond in Puerto Rico. The cable drive system and liner protection wheels were used to prevent the cutter from damaging the bottom liner.
A WeedMaster works its way into a very tall wall of reeds and cattails on a lake project in South America.
A 5012 LP Versi-Dredge removes water hyacinths a dam project.
A 5012 LP Versi-Dredge clears vegetation at a lake in Mexio.
WeedMaster Cutterhead
Invasive vegetation species can get into rivers and other bodies of water when foreign vessels introduce seedlings. In these cases, constant removal of the vegetation is required to slow down regeneration and protect fragile ecosystems from harmful chemical solutions, which are not proven to eradicate the invasive plants.
IMS holds the patent for the WeedMaster cutterhead, which is the only cutterhead in the world proven to effectively cut and pump rooted, floating and emergent vegetation types from 6 in. (152mm) tall to 12 ft. (3.7m) tall. The WeedMaster bolts directly to the dredge ladder and turns the Versi-Dredge into an aquatic hydraulic weed harvesting machine that can cut and pump hyacinths, milfoil, cattails, reeds and other vegetation, and pump it up to 3,280 ft. (1km) distance.
Most weed and vegetation dredges cut the weeds down to a maximum depth of 6 ft. (1.8m) and store them in a hopper that must be periodically emptied on shore. This requires unloading barges or pier and shore conveyors, all of which increase labor and diesel fuel costs. The WeedMaster is much more efficient because it chops weeds into 3-5 inch (76-127mm) pieces and pumps them to the shore, up to 1km away, using the vegetation dredge pump.
The WeedMaster cutterhead will operate differently in every application. Unlike dredging sand or mud there is no uniformity in cutting vegetation. There are different densities, different stem circumferences, and depending on the season different fiber strengths.
IMS Dredges has put together the following estimates based on customer feedback from the field. These estimates are conservative and are for clearing and removing extremely dense vegetation. IMS estimates that you will achieve between 1-2.5 acres of production per day (more with floating vegetation like water hyacinths).
Removing Floating Vegetation (Hyacinths):
- Equipment Utilized: IMS Versi-Dredge, IMS WeedMaster Cutterhead, IMS Weed Rake Feeder Attachment, IMS Winglet Impeller
- Duration: 1 hour
- Surface Area Cleared: 202.5 m2/hr.+
- Height of Vegetation: 0.3 meters
Removing Dense Rooted Vegetation (Grasses, Cattails, Reeds, etc.):
- Equipment Utilized: IMS Versi-Dredge, IMS WeedMaster Cutterhead, IMS Winglet Impeller
- Duration: 1 hour
- Surface Area Cleared: 50-100 m2/hr. + depending on stalk thickness, root mass, and depth at which the vegetation sits in the mud.
- Height of Vegetation: 1m – 3m
The Hyacinths rake conveys dense water hyacinths to the patented WeedMaster on a Versi-Dredge operating in Pampanga, Philippines. The system can cut and pump the hyacinths up to 1km away. No other system in the world can do this.
An IMS Model 5012 LP Versi-Dredge® with patented WeedMaster removes floating islands of dense vegetation from a lake in Florida.
A Model 5012 LP Versi-Dredge clears a lake of invasive submerged / rooted vegatation.
A Model 5012 LP Versi-Dredge® in Mexico utilizes the Weed Rake to convey 2 ft. tall hyacinths mats to the Weedmaster Cutterhead which chops them into 2-3 inch pieces.
A WeedMaster cutterhead removes dense vegetation mats from the shoreline of the Kafue River in Zambia.t
News
DPWH Acquires IMS Versi-Dredge with Patented WeedMaster®
PHILIPPINES – The Philippines Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) recently took delivery of a 2023 IMS Model 5012 LP Versi-Dredge with patented WeedMaster® cutterhead. The dredge was
IMS Aquatic Weed Harvester Destroying Totora In Laguna de Colta, Ecuador
Local authorities in the municipality of Colta, Ecuador recently purchased an IMS Model 5012 LP Versi-Dredge® with a Weedmaster™ aquatic plant harvester and interchangeable horizontal cutterhead.
IMS Weedmaster: Advanced Vegetation Removal Technology
The idea behind the IMS Weedmaster was to convert the dredge system into a high production vegetation harvesting system that could pump shredded vegetation to the same discharge area as the silt and sand dredged from the bottom of a lake.
Weedmaster® Meets Challenge of Weed-Choked Lakes in Mexico
Most of the lakes in this region have become choked with floating, submerged and emergent weed masses – such as floating hyacinth, lilies, myrtle, grasses, cattail, willows and Palmetto palms – along with the usual build-up of silt and sediment.
Frequently Asked Questions
Aquatic weeds such as cattails, reeds, water hyacinth, hydrilla and milfoil are removed with a vegetation dredge fitted with IMS’s patented WeedMaster® cutterhead, which cuts and pumps the shredded plants through a pipeline to shore. The 5012 LP Versi-Dredge is the model most often used for this work, and an IMS Weed Rake feeder attachment can be added to convey dense floating hyacinth mats into the cutterhead. IMS Versi-Dredges convert between sediment dredging and weed harvesting by swapping the cutterhead.
The WeedMaster® cutterhead replaces the standard cutterhead and, working with the IMS Winglet Impeller, chops aquatic vegetation into roughly 2–5 inch pieces and pumps the shredded material through the same pipeline used for dredged sediment — carrying it up to about 1 km to a discharge area. This turns the dredge into a high-production aquatic weed harvester that removes the plants entirely rather than just cutting them.
Yes. An IMS Versi-Dredge does both — with the standard SolidsMaster® horizontal auger it removes sediment, and by swapping to the interchangeable WeedMaster® cutterhead it becomes an aquatic weed harvester, all on the same machine. This dual function lets owners manage both siltation and vegetation with one dredge, pumping both to the same discharge area.
Shredded vegetation is pumped through the discharge pipeline to a shore disposal area up to roughly 1 km (3,280 ft) away — a reach IMS states no other system can match — with projects in Ecuador pumping dense reeds over 500 m to shore. Distance can be extended with a booster pump, and exact reach depends on the material and pipe size. IMS will size the pipeline for your site.
A vegetation dredge is often preferable to herbicides or manual removal because it physically removes the plants and pumps them to shore, giving longer-lasting results without chemical inputs and without the regrowth that follows cutting alone. It also restores water depth at the same time, since the same machine can dredge accumulated silt. The best method depends on the species and water body, which IMS can help assess.
The IMS WeedMaster® aquatic weed harvester handles a wide range of invasive and nuisance plants — including cattails, reeds, water hyacinth, hydrilla, milfoil, lilies, grasses, willows and totora — cutting and pumping them to shore. It has been deployed against weed-choked lakes and rivers worldwide, from totora in Laguna de Colta, Ecuador and hyacinths in Thailand and the Philippines to dense cattails on the Kafue River in Zambia. The cutterhead and approach are matched to the target species.
