TITLE:
One-Dimensional Modeling of Sedimentation Impacts for the Mississippi River at the West Bay Diversion
AUTHORS:
Jeremy A. Sharp, Ronald E. Heath, Nathan D. Clifton
KEYWORDS:
Diversion; Dredging; Mississippi River; Navigation; Sediment
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Water Resource and Protection,
Vol.5 No.9A,
September
30,
2013
ABSTRACT: The Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection and Restoration Act (CWPPRA)
funded construction of the West Bay Sediment Diversion Project (WBSD) on the
west bank of the Mississippi River for the purpose of coastal restoration. A
multi-tiered sediment study for the WBSD was conducted to determine impacts to
the adjacent navigation channel and to the Pilottown Anchorage Area (PAA). One
tier of the study is the implementation of HEC-6T, a one-dimensional (1-D)
sediment model, to evaluate the regional impacts of the WBSD. The HEC-6T model
results shows the long-term channel changes associated with the WBSD to be
increasing shoaling in the adjacent areas on the order of 10% - 20%, as
compared to the no WBSD condition. However, it is extremely difficult to
isolate the impacts associated with a single diversion due to multiple
diversions in the region. From a holistic vantage point, the 1-D model shows the
necessity to examine, on a regional scale, the lower Mississippi River as a
single congruent system on a regional scale.