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Encroachment of Sills onto State-Owned Bottom: Design Guidelines for Chesapeake Bay
Hardaway, C. Scott Milligan, Donna A. O'Brien, Kevin Wilcox, Christine A. Shen, Jian Hobbs, Carl H.
Hardaway, C. Scott
Milligan, Donna A.
O'Brien, Kevin
Wilcox, Christine A.
Shen, Jian
Hobbs, Carl H.
Abstract
Recent efforts have sought to expand the use of “Living Shorelines” by waterfront property owners in Virginia and Maryland to combat tidal shoreline erosion. Living shorelines represent a shoreline management option that combines various erosion control methodologies and/or structures while at the same time restoring or preserving natural shoreline vegetation communities. Some regulatory agencies and non-governmental organizations prefer living shorelines over “traditional” shore hardening using bulkheads or stone revetments because these structures create a “barrier” or disconnect between the upland and marine environments. Typically, creation of a living shoreline involves the placement of sand, planting marsh flora, and, if necessary, construction of a rock structure on the shoreline or in the nearshore (Figure 1). When any type of material, sand and/or rock, is placed below/beyond mean high water (MHW) two situations could occur: 1) encroachment onto regulated lands necessitates a permit and 2) one habitat is traded for another -- non-vegetated wetlands and/or nearshore bottom for marsh fringe and rocky substrate. Encroachment beyond mean low water (MLW) in Virginia (MHW in Maryland) is onto state-owned bottom. This latter point is of concern to the Virginia Marine Resources Commission (VMRC) which manages this region. Its concern is the determination of how much encroachment onto public state bottom is necessary for a shore protection project. The Virginia Chesapeake Bay Local Assistance Program (CBLA) regulates the area above MHW and the landward limit of tidal wetlands. They are concerned about how much encroachment landward is required for bank stabilization. The goal of this report is to offer some guidance toward these concerns, most particularly as it pertains to state bottom. Specifically, it is the intent of this report to look at encroachment primarily bayward of MHW/MLW for sill-type systems installed for shore protection.
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2009-03-01
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Shoreline Studies Program
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Research and Technical Reports, Shore Protection, Coastal Management, Coastal Engineering
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Virginia Institute of Marine Science
DOI
https://doi.org/10.21220/V5QT4P