Coastal Information Management System

Freshwater Bayou Bank Stabilization (CIAP)

Overview
Documents
Photos
Data

Project Location

This project is located in Vermilion Parish in southwest Louisiana. The project addresses four critical areas along the Freshwater Bayou navigation canal, starting just south of the Intracoastal Waterway and extending to approximately a mile north of the Gulf of Mexico shoreline.

Project Description

This project consists of approximately seven miles of rock revetment shoreline protection along four critical areas of the Freshwater Bayou navigation channel in Vermilion Parish.

Issue Addressed

Recent shoreline erosion rates along Freshwater Bayou range from 5 to 12 feet per year. The primary cause is oil and gas support vessel traffic that causes erosion of the banks. Erosion and saltwater intrusion are a serious threat to the adjacent marshes and to the supply of fresh water. These resources support rice and crawfish farming that are critical to the local economy. Shoreline erosion causes conversion of marsh to open water and the introduction of higher salinity waters to formerly fresh and intermediate marshes. Continued erosion and potential saltwater intrusion of those marshes is also considered a significant threat to LA Highway 82 and LA Highway 3147. Erosion along the waterway's east bank is also a threat to adjacent marshes, including the National Audubon Society's Paul J. Rainey Wildlife Refuge.

Project Goals

This project consists of approximately 7 miles of rock revetment shoreline protection along four critical areas of the Freshwater Bayou navigation canal. Armoring of the shoreline is intended to keep it from breaching so that salt water does not negatively impact the surrounding freshwater marshes and lakes in the Mermentau Basin. Implementation of similar shoreline protection projects along Freshwater Bayou has halted the shoreline erosion along those reaches.