Providing levee resilience and durability
Providing levee resilience and durability
Breached Levee
CSU Wave Overtop
From poor subgrade performance to roadway resilience
MIRAFI H2Rx repairs, weak and cracked roads in traffic-heavy Pulau Indah, Malaysia. MIRAFI H2Rx was installed for separation, mechanical stabilization and moisture management, providing the solution to building durable climate-resilient roadways.
When traditional sand bunds fail: A GEOTUBE marine solution for land reclamation
When traditional sand bund construction failed on an extremely soft marine clay seabed, GEOTUBE® Marine systems provided a stable containment solution that helped advance a land reclamation project for 112 acres.
GSE HD geomembrane lined salt ponds ensure long-term brine containment
GSE® HD geomembrane lined over 3.4 million m² of evaporation ponds to prevent brine seepage under extreme heat and UV exposure. This continuous barrier eliminated salt discharge and protected the surrounding environment.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), embarked on one of the largest and most comprehensive public works projects in American history following the catastrophic damage caused by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The Hurricane and Storm Damage Risk Reduction System (HSDRRS) program was established to provide the greater New Orleans Area a 100-year level of risk reduction. One of the most critical measures of the HSDRRS was protection of refurbished earthen levees against the erosion-causing hydraulic forces of storm surge overtopping. Without protection, overtopping can lead to significant landside erosion and potentially a breach of the levee. During Hurricane Katrina, most levee failure was due to water overtopping.
The USACE needed a proven solution, so they partnered with Colorado State University (CSU) to build a full-scale wave overtopping simulator. The simulator tested erosion resistance of the PROPEX® Armormax® system for 500-year resiliency HSDRRS overtopping conditions. Testing showed that PROPEX Armormax, consisting of High Performance Turf Reinforcement Mat (HPTRM) and Engineered Earth Anchors (EEA), provided increased levee resilience and durability. Additionally testing showed that PROPEX Armormax reinforced vegetation on the earthen levees, which reduces the risk of breaching caused by overtopping waves.
Full scale installation of the EEAS began in 2015 and has since been installed on over 100 miles of earthen levees in the New Orleans area. Since installation, multiple levees have experienced overtopping from major hurricanes, but have not breeched.