Restoration in the Mississippi River Delta: Old River … to committed to our coastour coast Restoration in the Mississippi River Delta: Old River Control Structure to the Gulf of

committed to our coast committed to our coast

Restoration in the Mississippi River Delta: Old River Control Structure to the Gulf of Mexico

A. Carol Parsons Richards Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA) CEER Conference, Session 61 July 31, 2014

Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority of Louisiana

The Mississippi River Watershed


Louisiana is Experiencing a Coastal Crisis

1,880 square

miles lost since the

1930s


Our Coastal Crisis Will Continue

With No Action Over the Next 50 Years

Potential to lose up to 1,750 square miles of land


1960’s Mitigation program for wetland losses and Water Resources Development Act (‘65)

1970’s State Coastal Zone Management Program created.

1980’s State-initiated restoration efforts: shoreline protection projects and sediment diversions.

State-created dedicated funding for coastal wetland restoration, and created Coastal Restoration Division on DNR.

1990’s Federal program and funding: Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection and Restoration Act (CWPPRA) or “Breaux Act.”

Caernarvon Freshwater Diversion opens in 1991 (authorized in 1965).

Louisiana generates first comprehensive plan for a sustainable coast: Coast 2050: Toward a Sustainable Coastal Louisiana. This plan was unanimously endorsed by all coastal parishes, the State Wetlands Authority, and the CWPPRA Task Force.

2000’s LCA Study completed and signed by the Chief of Engineers of the USACE.

Louisiana’s Comprehensive Master Plan for a Sustainable Coast (2007)

2010’s Louisiana’s updated Coastal Master Plan (2012)

1989 1980s 1990 1998 2005 2012 2007

1960s 1970s

LCA

Louisiana’s 2012 Coastal Master Plan Southwest Coast Southeast Coast Central Coast

Organizations Involved in Restoration

http://audubon.org/

http://www.louisianahelp.org/index.html


Louisiana’s Restoration Projects

Ridge Restoration

Bank Stabilization

Sediment Diversion

Barrier Island Restoration

Oyster Barrier Reefs

Marsh Creation

Hydrologic Restoration

Shoreline Protection


Louisiana’s Restoration Projects

Ridge Restoration

Bank Stabilization

Sediment Diversion

Barrier Island Restoration

Oyster Barrier Reefs

Marsh Creation

Hydrologic Restoration

Shoreline Protection


Barrier Islands Creation and restoration of dune, beach, and back barrier marsh to restore or augment offshore barrier islands and headlands

West Belle Pass Barrier Headland Restoration (TE-52)

Total Project Budget $33.5 million Acres Benefited 596 Construction Completion Date December 2012 Funding Program CWPPRA


Marsh Creation

Creation of new wetland areas in open areas, generally involves sediment dredging and placement via pipeline

Marsh Creation: Bayou Dupont


Ridge Restoration Re-establishment of historic ridges in basins through local dredging, sediment placement, and vegetative plantings to restore natural ridge functions

• Most of the area’s bayou ridges and marshes have disappeared

• The project design w restore the ridge on east bank of Bayou Grand Liard and cre new marsh to the ea

Grand Liard

Funding Program: CWPPRA


Sediment Diversion Utilize Mississippi River resources (sediment, freshwater, and nutrients) to maintain existing wetlands and build new wetlands, mimicking natural processes


2012 Coastal Master Plan 10 Proposed Diversions

Projects Constructed / In Construction Southwest Region 2008 – FY 2015

Projects Constructed / In Construction Central and Southeast Regions 2008 – FY 2015


Moving Forward

Sediment • Availability • Effects on navigation Water • Availability • Effects in receiving basin: hydrology,

salinity, nutrients, vegetation, fisheries, socioeconomics


Questions? Carol Parsons Richards

[email protected]

225-342-9430

mailto:[email protected]

Future Environmental Scenarios

Moderate Scenario

Less Optimistic Scenario

Historical Distributaries of Mississippi River

By Jakob Rosenweig, Tulane University

Current Managed System

The significant problems we face can not be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them.

–Albert Einstein

CPRA Coastal Restoration- January 2008 through FY 15

Constructed Under Construction Anticipated to be bid

for construction in FY14

Anticipated to be bid for

construction in FY15

TOTALS

# Total Cost # Total Cost # Total Cost # Total Cost # Total Cost

Barrier Island/Headland Restoration 7 $477,786,741 3 $177,319,064 1 $147,063,587 2 $214,269,971 13 $1,016,439,363 Marsh Creation 9 $156,461,322 8 $227,986,592 2 $17,538,649 7 $118,548,958 26 $520,535,521 Shoreline Protection 13 $247,622,006 5 $77,810,707 1 $26,351,988 1 $11,305,616 20 $363,090,317 Hydrologic Restoration 6 $66,824,678 2 $5,500,000 1 $4,500,000 4 $20,657,459 13 $97,482,137 Diversions 1 $20,000,000 0 $0 0 $0 1 $20,000,000 2 $40,000,000 Oyster Barrier Reefs 1 $1,510,433 0 $0 0 $0 1 $26,500,000 2 $28,010,433

37 $970,205,181 18 $488,616,363 5 $195,454,224 16 $411,282,004 76 $2,065,557,772


Monitoring: SWAMP

Protection Data Restoration Data

SWAMP

Met-data Wetlands

Barrier Islands

Fish and Wildlife

Elevation

Geology

Vegetation Mapping

Landscape Change Waters

Waves & Currents

Socio-economics

Protection Levels

Population Demo-

graphics

Cultural Resources

Support Working

Coast

Project-Level E&D,

Construction, and OM&M

Mississippi River Hydrodynamic and Delta Management Study

50/50 Cost Share State and Corps of Engineers

Tentatively Selected Plan (12/2014)

Project Delivery Team Decision

Screening Criteria

FUNDING

Programmatic Study for Management of the Lower

Mississippi River

PLANNING

• Scoping Meetings • Periodic meetings with major stakeholder groups

Outreach & Engagement

Land rights

10 % Engineering and Design

Data Collection

Water and sediment resources available for restoration

Effects on navigation Sedimentation and effects on

river maintenance Reduced transport in the river Effects on river flood control Nutrients and harmful pollutants

in the river Capacity and efficiency at

building/maintaining land Variability in sediment transport

and retention Water movement Effect of nutrients and sediment

on vegetation and soils Effects of uncertainties, such as

subsidence and sea level rise Elevation changes Salinity patterns Changes in vegetation/ habitat

types Water level fluctuations Water quality and nutrients Water temperature variability Fisheries impacts, abundance

and distribution

Out

put E

valu

atio

n

•In-River Models

•1D • HEC-6T • HEC-RAS

•Multi-D •Delft 3D •AdH •FVCOM •Flow3D

•In-Basin Models • Hydrodynamic, Sediment Transport, and Morphological Models

•AdH •Delft 3D

• Ecological Models (Fisheries)

•EwE w/ Trosim •CASM

•Small Scale Physical Model

M

odel

/Too

l Typ

es

Data

Col

lect

ion

•In-River •Bathymetry •Sediment Concentration •Velocities •Geomorphic Assessment

•In-Basin •Geophysical •Nutrient

•Data Management

Feasibility Studies/Alternative Analysis

Outreach and Engagement

Tool Development Tools Being Developed (Lowers & Mid Breton): River-side Models • 3D hydrodynamic and sediment transport (Ehab Meselhe, The Water Institute of the Gulf) • Local and regional 3D hydrodynamic and morphological models (Ehab Meselhe, The Water Institute of the

Gulf) Basin-side Models • 2012 MP* Ecohydrology (Ehab Meselhe, The Water Institute of the Gulf), Vegetation (Jenneke Visser, UNO),

and Wetland Morphology (Brady Couvillion, USGS) models. • Site-Specific Delft 3D morphological model using West Bay as an analogue (Ehab Meselhe, The Water

Institute of the Gulf)

*Models runs will use site specific data (Mead Allison, The Water Institute and Sam Bentley, LSU) Tools Currently Being Utilized (Mid Barataria):

• Multi-Dimensional Models of River, Channel and Outfall • Delft 3D, Flow3D, HEC RAS (Ehab Meselhe-Water Institute of the Gulf and HDR)

• Ship simulation model (Waterway Simulation Technology, HDR) • Lidar, Bathymetric, and Topographic Surveys (Fugro Geospatial Services/John Chance Land Surveys) • Boring Logs, In situ and Lab Measurements, Geomorphic Assessments (GeoEngineers and HDR) • Material Strengths, Design Loads, Soil Properties (HDR) • Gate Hydraulic Models (HDR)

River-Side (LCA – MR Hydro): • One-Dimensional Model

• HEC-6T (Tony Thomas-Mobile Boundary Hydraulics, Ike Mayer and Mike Trawle-BCG) • Multi-Dimensional Models

• AdH-SedLib Multi-D Model (Gary Brown-USACE/ERDC) • Delft 3D Multi-D Model (Alex McCorquodale-UNO, Steve Ayres-USACE/MVN, and Ehab Meselhe-Water Institute of

the Gulf) • FVCOM Multi-D Model (Ioannis Georgiou-UNO) • Flow3D Multi-D Model (Ehab Meselhe-Water Institute of the Gulf)

• Small Scale Physical Model (BCG, Cecil Soileau-BCG/Dewberry Joint Venture and Alden Research Laboratory) Geomorphic Assessment (David Biedenharn-Biedenharn Group and Charlie Little-USACE/ERDC) Data Collection (Mead Allison-Water Institute of the Gulf and Thad Pratt-USACE/ERDC) Data Management (Christina Hunnicutt and Craig Conzelmann-USGS; Melany Larenas and Beth Forrest-CB&I) Basin-Side (LCA – MR Delta Management): • Hydrodynamic, Sediment Transport, and Morphological Models

• AdH (Gary Brown-USACE/ERDC) • Delft 3D (Ehab Meselhe-Water Institute of the Gulf) including:

• Nutrient dynamics, Mophodynamic modules & Soils component • Ecological Models

• EwE w/ Trosim (Kim DeMustert-GMU) • CASM (Chris Wallen and Shaye Sable-Dynamic Solutions)

• Small Scale Physical Model (Cecil Soileau-BCG/Dewberry Joint Venture and Alden Research Laboratory)

LMR Diversion Planning: • Social Impact Assessment, including economics (Stephen Barnes-LSU; Nick Burger- RAND; Craig Colten-Water

Institute of the Gulf; Jeff Carney-LSU CSS)

Tool Development

Documents

Restoration in the Mississippi River Delta: Old River … to committed to our coastour coast Restoration in the Mississippi River Delta: Old River Control Structure to the Gulf of