Hydraulic channel and shell dredging and open water spoil disposal have little significant immediate effect on water quality in Alabama estuaries. Almost all of the sediment discharged by dredges settles very rapidly and is transported by gravity along the bottom as a separate flocculated density layer and potentially harmful components of the mud are not dissolved into the water. There is a limited, temporary reduction in benthic organisms in areas affected by dredging. Spoil piles from channel dredges can indirectly affect the ecology and usefulness of estuaries by interfering with water circulation and altering salinity. The basic hydrological concepts which determine the effects of dredging should be applicable in other areas. Extensive regulations apparently are not necessary to protect water quality in open water dredging situations but spoil disposal practices from channel dredges must be reconsidered and appropriate new disposal plans developed.