Hydraulic Structure Placement and Sizing for the Sabine National Wildlife Refuge
Cameron Parish, Louisiana
FTN used the two-dimensional RMA-2 hydraulic and RMA-11 hydrodynamic transport models (also known as the TABS-MD modeling system) to assist in the design of weirs and flap-gated culverts to control salinity intrusions into the Sabine National Wildlife Refuge. The purpose of the study was to recommend structure locations and sizes to manage salinity and water levels inside the project. Tasks included:
- Deployment, maintenance and data QA/QC of salinity, water surface elevation, and velocity recorders at two stations (subcontract to ENCOS),
- Topographical and bathymetric surveys,
- Selection of hydraulic models to represent the system,
- Model geometry setup, calibration and verification, and application to proposed design scenarios.
The project was complicated by the fact that the study area is comprised of man-made canals, a man-made impoundment, and a highly mottled marsh with contiguous open water areas. Rather than taking traditional transects across the project area to develop the topographical representation of the area, FTN and T. Baker Smith & Son, Inc. reconnoitered the area, studied recent aerial photography, and developed a cost-effective way of collecting bathymetric data for the model, cutting survey costs in half. Data were collected on a meandering bathymetric survey track through the contiguous open water areas to optimize data collection efforts.FTN also made four technical presentations to the reviewing agencies that included the US Fish and Wildlife, National Marine Fisheries, Louisiana Department of Natural Resources, and the NRCS.
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