Location: Sustainable Water Management Research
Project Number: 6066-13000-006-003-S
Project Type: Non-Assistance Cooperative Agreement
Start Date: Aug 1, 2018
End Date: Jul 30, 2023
Objective:
The goal of the work is to quantify wave erosion of vegetated embankments in aquaculture ponds and in a laboratory flume. A secondary goal is to determine the effectiveness, including cost, of geotextiles on an irrigation reservoir levee.
Approach:
Increasing demands on limited groundwater resources have created a growing need for the development of surface water resources for irrigation. On-farm irrigation reservoirs offer an alternative practice for reducing dependence on groundwater supplies, but the earthen embankments surrounding the reservoirs are susceptible to erosion by wind-driven waves. Wave erosion of cohesive embankments is also an important issue for aquaculture ponds and coastal marshes.
Wave erosion of vegetated earthen embankments, like those on aquaculture ponds, will be investigated in laboratory and field research by comparing wave energy to amount of eroded material. The effectiveness of geotextiles for protecting earthen levees will be investigated. The cost of geotextiles will be considered as part of the analysis. Characteristics of the levee soils will be measured to help in generalizing the results for areas with different soil properties.
