CATCH AND RELEASE
Catch and Release is a design strategy for exploiting dredge spoils and lacustrine processes of Lake Ontario to enhance wetland habitat variety at the local level along its south shore. The project was created by Eli Sands and formed under the supervision of Catherine Seavitt Nordenson and Meg Studer in the third year comprehensive MLA design studio at the Spitzer School of Architecture at The City College of New York. SITE Lake Ontario is the last stop along America’s Great Lakes hydrologic cycle, which moves one-fifth of the world’s fresh water from Middle America to the Atlantic Ocean. The quantities of water and the speed at which it moves were once determined by the seasonal water cycle, but the continued disturbance of Anthropocene controls (such as diversions, dams, and dredging) and the effects of climate change are now also contributing to the behavior of the Great Lakes’ water flow and coastal ecosystem. In 1959 Lake Ontario’s water level was constricted by the construction of the Moses-Saunders Dam as part of St. Lawrence Seaway Project. The ease of access to the Atlantic that was created by the Seaway Project has had many unintended consequences. Foreign ships entering the Seaway brought with them invasive species, causing massive ecological and economic impacts. Controlled water levels have also effectively eliminated the natural wetland disturbance cycle, which relies on a fluctuation in high and low water levels. The static water level has left the shoreline of Lake Ontario more homogeneous in its biotic composition, which has compromised the valuable shoreline fisheries. PROGRAM STATEMENT The simple idea of Catch and Release is that if you can’t change the water, change the land. The program for Catch and Release is designed to work by entwining Anthropocene dredge cycles with the natural process of longshore drift, creating novel submerged and emergent wetland constructs. The skeleton of this design will be strategically placed weir/breakwater features. The features will be modeled and staged in such a way as to induce creation of the natural formation of baymouth bars and spits.
The dredge cycle is a critical component of the development of these new artificial catchments. Dredging in Lake Ontario operates on cyclical periods that happen every two to three years, depending on the harbor. In Catch and Release, the substantial quantities of dredge spoils, most of which are currently deposited into the deep lake basins, will be redirected into staging areas adjacent to the embayment constructs to allow littoral drift to naturally deposit spoils along the catchment features. The initial placement of the spoils will shift over time, ensuring variance in embayment build-up and promoting nourishment in underdeveloped areas. Furthermore, the use of ice booms could help modify and enhance sediment transport through freeze and melt cycles. With enough time, these features will develop into protected off-shore embayments, creating suitable habitats for submerged and emergent wetland biota. This increase in wetland area will be beneficial for the continued integrity of the Lake Ontario fishing industry. Furthermore, the controlled scale of the artificial embayments will enable small-level management practices for invasive species such as zebra and quagga mussels. The staging of these catchment structures will be placed an estimated 200-500 feet off-shore. This placement is an anticipatory design choice in preparation for the probability of lower lake levels caused by climate change. If lake levels were to recede, these already established habitats would help compensate for upland wetland loss and provide a “line-in-the-sand” to prevent urban encroachment onto the newly exposed shores.
LAKE ONTARIO TIMELINE 1825: Eerie Canal Opened
248’
1919: Welland Canal Expanded
1959: St. Lawrence Seaway Opens
1829: Welland Canal Opened
247.5’ 247’
Moses-Saunders Hydro Electric Dam
1909: Boundary Waters Treaty, Joint
1855: Soo Locks Opened
1972: 1973:
246.5’
Water Quality Agreement Joint Clean Water Act Ballast Discharge Exempt from Clean Water Act, USA 1990: Non-indigenous Aquatic Nuisance Prevention Act
246’ The Soo Locks
2002: Great Lakes Legacy Act
Historic Water Levels 1918
245.5’
2014
245’ 244.5’ 1839 Purple Loosestrife
WATER LEVEL
244’
1921: Sea Lamprey
1873: Alewife
1966: Pacific Salmon 1986: Ruffe 1988: Spiny Water Flea Zebra Mussel
243.5’ 243’ 242.5’
1990: Quagga Mussel Tubenose & Round Gobies 1998: Fishhook Water Fleas
Sea Lamprey
1820
YEAR
1840
1860 TRANSPORTATION
1880
1900
INVASIVE SIGHTING
1920 MAJOR POLICY
1940
Zebra Mussels
1960
1980
2000
2020
DREDGE: DEMAND AND SUPPLY
Braddock Bay 9,000 yd3 Cycle: 3 years 10 years: 27,000 yd3 Disposal: Open Water
Wilson Harbor 7,000 yd3 Cycle: 4 years 10 years: 14,000 yd3 Disposal: Open Water Olcott Harbor 25,000 yd3 Cycle: 1 years 10 years: 27,000 yd3 Disposal: Open Water
Long Pond Outlet 172 yd3 Cycle: 3 years 10 years: 516 yd3 Disposal: Open Water
Oak Orchard Harbor 27,000 yd3 Cycle: 4 years 10 years: 54,000 yd3 Disposal: Open Water
Genesee River 150,000 yd3 Cycle: 3 years 10 years: 750,000 yd3 Disposal: Open Water
Irondequoit Bay 18,000 yd3 Cycle: 3 years 10 years: 54,000 yd3 Disposal: Littoral Drift
Single Cycle
10 Year Cycle
Fishing
Upland Disposal
Recreation
Open Water Disposal
Little Sodus Bay 12,000 yd3 Cycle: 5 years 10 years: 60,000 yd3 Disposal: Open Water
Blind Sodus Bay 225 yd3 Cycle: 10 years 10 years: 2,250 yd3 Disposal: Open Water
Sodus Bay ??? yd3 Cycle: ??? 10 years:??? Disposal: ???
Sandy Creek 12,000 yd3 Cycle: 7 years 10 years: 12,000 yd3 Disposal: Open Water
Cubic Yards
Oak Orchard Harbor 72,000 yd3 Cycle: 3 years 10 years: 216,000 yd3 Disposal: Open Water
East Bay 100 yd3 Cycle: 1 year 10 years: 1,000 yd3 Disposal: Next to Outlet
Puttneyville 800 yd3 Cycle: 5 years 10 years: 4,000 yd3 Disposal: Upland
Port Bay 1000 yd3 Cycle: 1 year 10 years: 10,000 yd3 Disposal: Next to Outlet
Commercial 0
5
10
20
30
40 Miles
ICE PROCESS TOOL BOX ICE JAMS
ICE SCOUR
SUMMER
FALL
ICE BOOMS upland shrubs
typical flow through river
ch
an
pu
sh
ne
ice fragments form larger and more stable block
l fl
ow
emergent wetlands
of li
tto
ral
dri
ft
boom anchored on shoreline WINTER
floating pontoon
WINTER ice jam at bend
forces ice into shoreline freezing the edge terrain
forces flooding up stream
+TIME
creates new riverine topology
SPRING
ice scour removes vegetation and organic litter and erodes shoreline
clear channel
CLIMATE CHANGE UNCERTAINTIES CLIMATE CHANGE MODEL COMPARISONS Historic
2020-2040
ONTARIO BEACH. ROCHESTER, NEW YORK
2041-2070
248’
a
IGLD (International Great Lakes Datum)
247’
a1
246’ 245’ 244’ 243’ 242’ 241’ HISTORIC RANGE
SC2030/SC2050
HIGH EMISSIONS SCENARIO
HANHOE ET. AL.
CCC GCM1
SHORE EXPOSURE POTENTIAL High 248’ IGLD
Low Water Datum 243.3’ IGLD
450’
a
Low 241’ IGLD
a1
OFFSHORE EMBAYMENT CHAIN CONCEPT PHASE 1 INSTALL
PHASE 2 SEDIMENT DEPOSITION
E
ON LZ
WEIR BEGINS ACCUMULATING SEDIMENT
A OR IT T
L
BREAKWATER 300’ approx
SPIT FORMATION ALONG BREAKWATER
SUBMERGED WEIR
LO N
GS
LO N
HO
RE
GS
DR
IFT
DIR
EC
TIO
N
PHASE 3 DREDGE NOURISHMENT
HO
RE
DR
IFT
DIR
EC
TIO
N
PHASE 4 BIOTIC ESTABLISHMENT NEW SUBMERGED HABITATS SPIT FORMATION ALONG BREAKWATER
NEW EMERGENT WETLANDS
DREDGE RELEASE INTO DRIFT SYSTEM
CONTINUED DREDGE NOURISHMENT
Sources Page 1 MODIS satellite imagery from 02/20/15. MODIS data acquired by direct broadcast and processed at the Space Science and Engineering Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison. http://coastwatch.glerl.noaa.gov/modis/ modis.php?region=o&page=1 Page 2 IMAGE SOURCES: • Soo Locks: https://postcardsfromthefather.wordpress.com/2013/05/27/american-soo-locks-sault-ste- marie-michigan/ • Moses-Saunders Dam: https://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5138/5483696876_55b4cb1db5_b.jpg • Sea Lamprey: http://schoolship.org/sites/default/files/Great%20Lakes%20Resources%20 photos/SeaL amprey.jpg • Zebra Mussels: http://hometownsource.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/cluster-of-zebra-mussels.jpg Alexander, Jeff. Pandora’s Locks the Opening of the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway. East Lansing, Mich.: Michigan State University Press, 2009. http://site.ebrary.com/id/10514596. Laboratory, NOAA Great Lakes Environmental Research. “NOAA National Center for Research on Aquatic Invasive Species (NCRAIS).” Accessed January 21, 2015. http://nas.er.usgs.gov/queries/greatlakes/SpeciesList.aspx?Group=&HUCNumber=DGreatLakes&Genus=&Species=&ComName=&status=0&pathway=0&Sortby=1&SpeciesCategory=1. US Department of Commerce, NOAA. “Great Lakes Water Level Dashboard.” Accessed January 28, 2015. http:// www.glerl.noaa.gov/data/dashboard/GLWLD.html. Page 3 F-E-S Associates. Regional Dredging Management Plan Final Report. Final Report, November 2000. Additional dredging data obtained by the united State Army Corp of Engineers, Buffalo District. March 2014 Page 4 “Ice Harvesting.” Accessed February 25, 2015. http://www.historicsoduspoint.com/commerce/ice-harvesting/. Boucher, Étienne, Yves Bégin, and Dominique Arseneault. “Impacts of Recurring Ice Jams on Channel Geometry and Geomorphology in a Small High-Boreal Watershed.” Geomorphology 108, no. 3–4 (July 2009): 273–81. doi:10.1016/j.geomorph.2009.02.014. Page 5 US Department of Commerce, NOAA. “Great Lakes Water Level Dashboard.” Accessed January 28, 2015. http:// www.glerl.noaa.gov/data/dashboard/GLWLD.html. Bathymetric data obtained from “ENC Direct to GIS.” NOAA’s Office of Coast Survey. Accessed January 28, 2015. http://www.nauticalcharts.noaa.gov/csdl/ctp/encdirect_new.htm. Topological data obtained from USGS national map viewer. http://nationalmap.gov/viewer.html