Author(s): D. D. McGehee

Linked Author(s):

Keywords: Living shoreline; Erosion; Shore protection; Reef breakwater; Oyster reef; Salt-marsh

Abstract: Living shorelines on the scale of individual private lots are almost exclusively built at sites with reduced wave exposure. This paper describes the design and post construction monitoring of a residential-property-scale living shoreline project on a rapidly eroding, exposed shoreline. The project site is on the north-eastern side of Mobile Bay, AL with a maximum fetch of 129 km. Pre-construction shoreline retreat locally has averaged -80 cm/year since 1997. The final design was modelled on the award-winning (and much larger) Project Greenshores Phase II built in 2007 in nearby Pensacola Bay, FL. The novel feature for both projects is a constructed salt marsh behind a broad-crested, offshore submerged breakwater/oyster reef for wave protection. The project was constructed in the Spring and Summer of 2014 and is halfway through a 3-year post construction monitoring program (AMP). This paper describes the site analysis, design process, and the owner’s self-imposed adaptive management plan - an equally unique feature for a small-scale project. Results of the monitoring effort and its impact on implementation of the AMP are presented. To date the design has been successful at eliminating erosion without the usual deleterious effects to adjacent properties usually associated with traditional hard shore protection schemes.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.15142/T3530628160853

Year: 2016