Calcasieu Ship Channel Salinity Control Measures
Calcasieu Ship Channel Salinity Control Measures
The Calcasieu Ship Channel, which connects the Gulf of Mexico to Calcasieu Lake, is located within the Chenier Plain. The once stable platform of the Chenier Plain has experienced decades of dredging navigation canals, which has dramatically changed the hydrology of the system. Saltwater intrusion led to the extensive loss of freshwater marshes, increasing the threat of storm surge to communities. This project will aim to isolate the ship channel through a network of dike and sill structures designed to …
Houma Navigation Canal Lock Hydrologic Restoration
This project will construct a lock on the Houma Navigation Canal located in western Terrebonne Bay. The Houma Navigation Canal is a significant conduit for salt water into Terrebonne’s rapidly disappearing marshes. Construction of this project would help control salinities in the navigation canal and increase the effectiveness of the Increase Atchafalaya Flow into Terrebonne Marshes project by retaining and enhancing the distribution of fresh water in the wetlands to the north of the lock.
Increase Atchafalaya Flow into Terrebonne Marshes
This hydrologic diversion project stretches from the Atchafalaya River to the Houma Navigation Canal, which is part of the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway system. The marshes in the influence area are nearly an equal distance from the Mississippi and Atchafalaya rivers and are blocked from significant amounts of river water and sediment. These marshes have been rapidly converted to open water because of saltwater intrusion and sediment starvation. This project would dredge and deepen a portion of the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway …