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https://hdl.handle.net/11681/13570| Title: | Design for wave protection, flood control, and prevention of shoaling, Cattaraugus Creek Harbor, New York : hydraulic model investigation |
| Authors: | United States. Army. Corps of Engineers. Buffalo District. Bottin, Robert R. Chatham, C. E. (Claude E.) |
| Keywords: | Breakwaters Harbor design Cattaraugus Creek Harbor New York Hydraulic models Channel improvements Shoaling Flood control Water waves Stream channelization |
| Publisher: | Hydraulics Laboratory (U.S.) Engineer Research and Development Center (U.S.) |
| Series/Report no.: | Technical report (U.S. Army Engineer Waterways Experiment Station) ; H-75-18. |
| Description: | Technical Report Abstract: A 1:75-scale undistorted hydraulic model of the lower 5400 ft of Cattaraugus Creek and sufficient offshore area in Lake Erie to permit generation of the required test waves was used to investigate the arrangement and design of certain proposed improvements with respect to shoaling, wave protection, and flood control. The proposed improvement plans consisted of (a) breakwaters in Lake Erie at the mouth of Cattaraugus Creek, aggregating about 2300 ft in length; (b) a berm, about 700 ft in length , extending northward from the inner end of the north breakwater to high ground; (c) a 120-ft-wide, 8-ft deep entrance channel, about 1900 ft in length, extending from the 8-ft contour in the lake to the maneuvering area; (d) a 6-ft-deep maneuvering area 300 ft wide by 600 ft long; (e) a 120-ft-wide, 6-ft-deep channel, extending upstream approximately 1900 ft from the maneuvering area; (f) a riprapped friction section extending about 750 ft upstream from the navigation channel through the New York Central Railroad bridge; (g) two levees on the left bank aggregating about 770 ft in length; and (h) development of recreational facilities. A 60-ft-long wave generator, granulated nylon and crushed coal tracer materials, a model circulation system, an ice simulation material, and an automated data acquisition and control system (ADACS) were utilized in model operation. It was concluded from model test results that : (1.) For the existing harbor condition, wave action formed a shoal across the creek mouth which seriously interfered with navigation and the passage of flood flows and ice. (2.) During periods when this shoal was absent (i.e. washed out by flood flows), wave heights in the lower creek channel exceeded the established wave height criteria of 2.5 ft at the creek mouth and 0.5 ft in the maneuvering area. (3.) The originally proposed breakwater configuration with the navigation opening and entrance channel oriented toward the west (plan 1) resulted in shoaling in the harbor entrance. (4.) Of the improvement plans tested involving a navigation opening and entrance channel oriented toward the northeast (plans 2-9), plans 3 and 8 provided the best protection with respect to shoaling. (5.) Plans 3, 8, and 9 show no ice-jamming tendencies and plans 3 and 8 should help prevent the formation of windrowed lake ice at the entrance. (6.) Wave heights in the harbor were within the established wave-height criteria of 2.5 ft in the interior channe1 at the creek mouth and 0.5 ft in the lower reaches of the creek for all improvement plans tested. (7.) Flooding occurred downstream of the New York Central Railroad bridge for discharges of 40,000 cfs or greater for all plans tested but the levee on the south bank between the railroad embankments was not overtopped. (8.) A rubble-mound breakwater would allow the passage of flood flows more satisfactorily than would a sheet-pile structure because some flow can escape through the voids of a rubble-mound structure. (9.) Wave energy reflecting off the vertical walls of the sheet-pile breakwaters (plans 1- 7) may stimulate erosion in the vicinity of these structures and may affect small boats approaching and leaving the harbor. |
| Rights: | Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited. |
| URI: | http://hdl.handle.net/11681/13570 |
| Appears in Collections: | Technical Report |
Files in This Item:
| File | Description | Size | Format | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TR-HL-75-18.pdf | 10.91 MB | Adobe PDF |  View/Open |