Problems:
In 2005, the marshes in the North Shore Mapping Unit sustained severe damage due to Hurricane Katrina. Hundreds of acres of emergent marsh within this mapping unit were lost, resulting in hundreds of acres of shallow open water and scour ponds averaging about 2 ft deep. USGS calculated a 1984 to 2016 area loss rate of -0.91 % per year. Currently there is one area along the shoreline that looks as if a breach is forming. This area also has a small pond immediately behind the critical shoreline. If there were a breach in this area it would allow direct connection between the fresher interior marshes and higher salinity waters of Lake Pontchartrain.
Restoration Strategy:
The overall goal of this project is to restore marshes that were lost and/or damaged due to the effects of Hurricane Katrina. Restoring the marshes should reduce salinity effects on interior emergent marshes.
The proposed features of this project consist of filling approximately 384 acres of shallow open water and nourishing an additional 65 acres of fragmented and/or low marsh with material hydraulically dredged from Lake Pontchartrain. Target settled marsh elevation would be +1.2 NAVD 88, but will ultimately correspond to surrounding healthy marsh.
Progress to Date:
This project was approved for Phase I Engineering and Design on February 9th, 2018.
This project is on Priority Project List (PPL) 27.
CWPPRA 