SOUTHWESTERN DIVISION
Burks-Copes went on to explain the importance of the study in regard to the viability to the nation and the Texas coast, adding that the GLO and USACE have worked cooperatively with the Dutch to model an innovative design that can protect lives and property from storms and rising sea levels. In March 2019, USACE and the GLO hosted the Coastal Texas Protection and Restoration Study Gate Design Workshop with members of I-STORM – International Network for Storm Surge Barriers – management experts, to participate in a knowledge-sharing workshop to help inform the Coastal Texas Study Team on expertise and knowledge of design, construction, operations, and maintenance of large coastal storm surge barriers. “The Dutch are world-renowned for building large barrier systems on the coast,” said Burks-Copes. “We have been consulting with them through I-STORM, and they were heavily involved in the Gate Design Workshop in March.” In addition, multiple agencies independently decided to study the Texas Gulf Coast in hopes of developing a solution that would provide protection to reduce the propensity for loss of life and property. Wanting to maximize efforts, USACE and the GLO collaborated with the Severe Storm Prediction, Education and Evacuation from Disasters Center at Rice University, the Gulf Coast Community Protection and Recovery District, and Texas A&M University at Galveston on data and analyses, including preliminary storm surge modeling, engineering design, and economic values. “We encourage input of the study, because it gives us the ability to optimize the design plan,” said Burks-Copes. “When we had our first public comment period for the study, we received approximately 13,000 comments.”
As a result of those comments, designs for the Coastal Texas Study have evolved from the original plan and will continue to evolve with the upcoming public comment period scheduled for September 2020, Burks-Copes explained. “Although we have made progress in taking steps to protect the Texas coast, we are still only halfway finished with the study.” According to Burks-Copes, USACE and the GLO are set to deliver the report of the Coastal Texas Study to Congress in 2021, while the design phase of the project is expected to take approximately two to five years, with another 10-15 years of construction, and that’s if USACE receives the required funding. “The estimated cost for construction is projected at from $23 [billion to] $32 billion,” she said, “which seems like a substantial amount. However, I’d like to add that the estimated cost of recovery from Hurricane Ike was $38 billion. When you look at it from those terms, the barrier would pay for itself in one storm.” While preparedness continues to play a key role in mitigating against the loss of lives and property, as the Texas economy continues to grow, and the coast still remains largely unprotected, BurksCopes stresses the necessity for a lasting solution to be identified and implemented. “Today, Texas is just as vulnerable to a major storm as it was in 2008,” she said. “With a barrier system protecting the Texas coast, it will exponentially reduce the risk to public health and safety, substantially reduce the risk to critical infrastructure, reduce the economic impact, and increase resiliency along the energy corridor – all efforts that are directly in line with the USACE mission of providing vital public engineering services in peace and war to strengthen our nation’s security, energize the economy, and reduce risks from disasters.” n
PARTNERSHIP ON THE MKARNS IDENTIFIES SOLUTION TO PREVENT LONG-TERM LOST NAVIGATION BY L AURIE DRIVER, Lit tle Rock District
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he U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Little Rock District is moving the Three Rivers Study closer to construction. Currently, the project is in preconstruction, engineering, and design. “We are currently working on the design documentation report and the plans and specifications for this project,” said Project Manager Dana Coburn. The study, which was cost-shared with the Arkansas Waterways Commission, identified a long-term environmentally sustainable
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solution to ensure the continued safe use of the McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System (MKARNS) and prevent long-term lost navigation. The study area is located at the confluence of the Arkansas, White, and Mississippi rivers in Arkansas and Desha counties, focusing on 208 square miles where the rivers all meet in southeast Arkansas. Implementation of the Three Rivers project would not alter hydrology in surrounding bottomland hardwood forests, and navigation would
