Use of Vegetation and Natural Materials
Beneficial Use Site 4A Vegetation Workshop Chocolate Bayou Channel, Brazoria County, Texas, United States In 2012, a long-term management plan was implemented by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Galveston District (SWG) to beneficially utilize dredged material from the Chocolate Bayou Channel on a periodic basis over a twenty-year timeframe. The beneficial use project would create and augment approximately 560 acres of marsh and bird-nesting habitat within the Chocolate Bayou Channel. As a complement to this beneficial use of dredged material effort, certain features were applied to enhance engineering objectives while maximizing environmental benefits. The containment dike was reinforced with a combination of Reef Balls and articulating concrete mattresses, and vegetation was added to work synergistically with the other two elements to prevent the dike from eroding. The dike over time self-recruited vegetation through succession, but eventually areas lacking or sparse in vegetation experienced severe erosion, compromising the integrity of the dike. In 2017, the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) repaired the areas where vegetation had not taken hold, again using natural materials—this time, native plant species and coir materials.
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