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Location
The Biloxi Marsh project is located along a 7-mile stretch of the southeastern shoreline of Lake Borgne and the Biloxi Wildlife Management Area in St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana.
Issue Addressed
Marshes surrounding Lake Borgne have sustained significant land loss due to wave induced erosion, with approximately 15,640 acres lost between 1932 and 1990 along the 7-mile project reach. In recent years, some areas of the shoreline have receded up to 50 feet per year, greatly endangering the nearly 40,000-acre Biloxi Wildlife Management Area.
Project Goals
Minimizing shoreline retreat will help to protect a portion of the marshes in the Biloxi Wildlife Management Area, thus helping to save an ecosystem that also serves as a protective barrier for the City of New Orleans and surrounding area against surge and waves during tropical events.
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- 18th century maps show Lake Borgne was once separated from the Gulf of Mexico, but erosion and subsidence of wetlands at its northeast end have caused it to gradually open up to the Mississippi Sound.
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- Biloxi shoreline erosion rates have averaged approximately 8 to 9 feet per year. However, since 2004, largely due to hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Gustav, erosion rates have exceeded 50 feet per year in some localized areas.
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- Rip-rap protection is already in place along other reaches of Lake Borgne. Such projects can enable Lake Borgne and its adjacent marshes to continue providing a degree of hurricane protection to the New Orleans metropolitan area.
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- An all-rock breakwater is being placed along straighter, shallower shoreline reaches. At more irregular and deeper sections of the shoreline (the majority of the project area), the all-rock breakwater is less suitable, primarily due to the extremely soft soils. For these areas a lightweight-aggregate core (LWAC) breakwater is being used.
Project Type:
Shoreline Protection
Project Information:
Project number: PO-72
Estimated Total Cost: $$22 million
Land Benefited: 110 acres