ACB Ohio Creek Watershed Project
Discover what steps were taken by the city of Norfolk, VA, to reduce flooding events impacting two historic neighborhoods in a watershed area.
Challenge
Reduce shoreline erosion and consequently prevent river flooding and encourage recreational activity.
Solution
Install a matrix of individual Shoreblock concrete blocks to form an erosion-resistant overlay with specific hydraulic performance characteristics.
Product Advantages
- In comparison to rip rap, Shoreblock SD mats provide superior erosion resistance as well as competitive cost.
- They optimize strength with a 5:1 cable strength-to-mat weight ratio.
- Furthermore, Shoreblock SD mats are easier to handle and anchor due to cable loops at each row’s end.
Background
The Ohio Creek Watershed comprises the Historic Chesterfield Heights and Grandy Village neighborhoods. In fact, there are more than 700 individual housing units, however, the watershed area is only accessible via two roads. During regular nuisance flood events, one access road is generally impassable. As a result, it restricts access and evacuation routes for Ohio Creek Watershed residents.
Project Scope
Shoreline erosion in the area contributes to flooding events that leave Ohio Creek Watershed inaccessible. Gloucester-based contractors, Coastal Design & Construction, were tasked with providing permanent erosion solutions to both reduce flooding and maintain access to the Chesterfield Heights and Grandy Village communities.
Method
Coastal Design & Construction selected Shoreblock SD-475-CC Blocks because of the product’s proven capabilities in the Virginia Natural Gas Pipeline crossing. Using our N080N non-woven geotextile as underlayment filter fabric, the contractors laid a matrix of individual concrete blocks. They were placed together to form an erosion-resistant overlay with specific hydraulic performance characteristics. The mat matrix uses a series of cables to connect. To accomplish this, the cables pass longitudinally through preformed ducts in each block.
Why Ferguson Waterworks
Coastal Design & Construction partnered with ACF Environmental—now Ferguson Waterworks—because of an existing relationship and their faith in our experts to provide support from the bid stage to the installation of the product. We streamlined the design and sourcing process for the contractor by providing project-specific mat sizes and tools for assembly. Furthermore, we generated project-specific mat drawings with sequence numbers.
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