Tetra Tech Study Provides Clues To Possible Mouth Bar Dredging Strategies

FEMA has agreed to dredge another million cubic yards from the the area near the San Jacinto West Fork Mouth Bar. A report produced for the City of Houston by Tetra Tech helped convince FEMA. The report relied on sonar, LIDAR, and core sample data to estimate the total volume of sand deposited by Hurricane Harvey in that area: approximately 1.4 million cubic yards.

Need for Ruthless Efficiency

While another million cubic yards may sound like a lot, the area is huge. Dredging the whole 4.3 million square yard area would add only about 8 inches of water depth and leave an underwater mesa between the West Fork and the Lake. According to local geologists Tim Garfield and RD Kissling, who have studied the problem extensively, that would create a sediment trap that accelerates accumulation of sand from future storms.

So, what to do?

Three Strategies Discussed to Date

Those close to the project have discussed several strategies to date.

The Corps’ initial strategy: Dredge upstream from the mouth bar. They said 1D modeling showed that would accelerate water flowing into mouth bar and give it the velocity needed to push sand from the mouth bar farther out into the lake.
Another strategy: dredge downstream from the mouth bar and let the river push the mouth bar into the dredged area.
A third strategy: reconnect the river and the lake with a narrow channel that accelerated the flow of water and carried suspended sediment out into the broader lake south of the 1960 bridge.

2019 Tetra Tech Report

Stephen Costello, the City’s flood czar, says that new survey and modeling work has yet to be completed. That will ultimately determine where new dredging happens. However, he also added that consulting Tetra Tech’s exhibits would help provide clues as to where dredging might be most effective, based on knowledge accumulated to date.

*The first chart in Appendix A showed the coring locations and transects (survey lines) of the lake’s bottom profile.*

*The second chart shows what they found* *in various coring locations.* *The feet indicate the thickness of the top layer.*

Composition of the core samples provides clues as to what was laid down when. Sand (the yellow dots) is generally laid down during floods which have the energy to transport the heavy particles. However, clay and silt (the green and blue dots) are smaller. So they tend to drop out of suspension when water is calmer.

Finding sand above silt in a core sample indicates that a storm like Harvey likely laid down the sand.

The third chart is the most crucial. It’s a difference map that shows areas of deposition and scour pre- and post-Harvey. This shows two things: where most sediment fell out of suspension and where the main flow of the river tried to churn a path through the mounting muck.

From the difference map above, you can see that the river tried to scour its way through the sediment along a path from LH-16 to LH-21 to LH-23. You can see another area of scour to the far right from LH-15 to LH-25 to LH-26.

Where River Flowed Before Lake Was Impounded

Interestingly, the area of scour to the left follows the river’s relic channel.

*San Jacinto River map before Lake Houston was impounded*

Note how the West Fork hugged what is now Atascocita Point – the thumb of high land that sticks up in the Tetra Tech illustrations.

Harnessing Natural Energy of the River

From the third and fourth illustrations above, one might conclude that excavating a channel near Atascocita Point represents the best way to harness the natural energy of the river. That’s the shortest channel where scour is deepest.

Given the million cubic yard limit, that path also represents a chance to dig the deepest, widest channel possible within the budget. When technicians compiled the difference map above, most of that path was already at or below its 2011 level.

*500,000 square-yard path outlined in yellow would let dredgers excavate six feet. Average bottom depth is already 5.5 feet in that area.*

Following that path also lets you funnel future sediment through the FM1960 causeway and disperse it out into the wider, deeper lake.

Next Steps and Timing

At this point, we don’t know what Imelda did to this area. Imelda struck shortly after the Army Corps completed its post-dredging survey in this area last year.

Before the additional dredging can begin, several things must happen.

Completion of a new survey
Model different scenarios
Identify best strategy
Locate suitable placement area
Compile scope of work
Bid job
Mobilize

Based on past experience, that could take months to a year or more. It took 13 months after Harvey for the Corps to put equipment in the water for its Emergency West Fork Dredging Project. However, we don’t have as many unknowns this time.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 9/5/2020

1103 Days since Hurricane Harvey