By Stas Margaronis
The fourth Storms, Flooding and Sea Level Defense conference focused on nature -based solutions to defense against flooding and storm surges impacting coastal communities and ports in the United States. Panelists also discussed new developments in Singapore and the Netherlands.
The November 3rd conference took place virtually and was a joint production of the Society of American Military Engineers and the Propeller Club of Northern California.
Jim Patti, President, International Propeller Club of the United States emphasized the importance of a strong merchant marine and a U.S.- built Jones Act fleet to support increased maritime growth in areas such as dredging and maritime commerce.
SOCIETY OF AMERICAN MILITARY ENGINEERS
Retired Brigadier General Joseph Schroedel, Executive Director, Society of American Military Engineers welcomed the participants and urged collaboration between maritime and coastal stakeholders in addressing resiliency challenges.
Arvind Acharya, President, Society of American Military Engineers, San Francisco praised the participation of SAME chapters in the conference and for supporting of resiliency goals.
The speakers and subject titles were as follows:
SINGAPORE’S TUAS MEGAPORT
The conference keynote speaker, Jamie Lescinski, Business Development Director, Royal Boskalis Westminster N.V., discussed: “Global Dredging: Best Practices Enhance Beneficial Use, Productivity & Reduced Cost.”
Lescinski noted that Boskalis was engaged in maritime projects all over the world including the successful effort to dislodge the 1,300-foot, 220,000-ton container ship Ever Given from blocking the Suez Canal earlier this year.[1]
She said dredging vessels operated by Boskalis and other global dredging companies are much larger than American dredgers and far more efficient handling large projects. The Boskalis fleet provides a good role model for the type of capabilities that the United States should be looking at as U.S. companies upgrade their dredging fleet. Dredging plays an increasingly important role in developing coastal protections to combat worsening storms and flooding.
Lescinski cited the Singapore Tuas port expansion project in which Boskalis is providing dredging support for the building of a huge new container terminal complex based on four mega-finger piers built in the sea on reclaimed land using, in part, recycled building materials.
Components of the project include delivery of reclamation materials, development of the reclamation area, soil improvements and caisson fabrication and installation, she said.
Lescinski noted that one finger pier composes 366 hectares, built on top 227 concrete caissons, that represents an area larger than New York’s Central Park. A video of the 95-foot-high caissons being constructed, moved onto a floating drydock and floated into place to support the one of the mega-piers was shown. Each caisson weighs 13,000 tons and typical dimensions are 29 x 400 x 20 meters.
The container terminal is being built in four phases, with the first phase set to open this year at a cost of $1.76 billion. The plan is to move and consolidate container port operations at Tuas, at the western end of Singapore and build a smart, next-generation port that increases productivity, optimizes land-use, improves safety and security, and enhances sustainability.
Upon completion of the fourth and final project phase, scheduled after 2040, Tuas Terminal will be the largest container terminal in the world, with a total capacity of up to 65 million TEUs.[2]
U.S. PORTS
Derek Chow, Deputy Director, Hawaii State Harbor Division discussed the “Proposed Lock & Dam System to Protect Honolulu Harbor from Sea Level Rise.” Chow said the State of Hawaii is working with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to research a plan for constructing a lock and dam system to protect Honolulu Harbor from sea level rise. Chow estimated the completed project could cost $5 billion.
Aimee Andres, Executive Director, Inland Rivers, Ports and Terminals, Inc. discussed: “Impact & Response to Chronic Flooding on Mississippi & Inland River Ports.” She said that smaller inland ports have become access points for a growing marine highway business that includes containers on barge moves to and from the Port of New Orleans and other Gulf Coast ports. She explained that the growing river borne commerce is necessary because of congestion on highways and rail lines. Dredging is important to the inland ports because they have experienced a rise in flood events and need dredging to keep their harbors accessible to tug and barge traffic and the growing marine highway traffic.
U.S. MILITARY INSTALLATIONS
Lori Adornato, Program Manager, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), discussed: “Reefense: Developing Self-healing, Hybrid Biological and Engineered Reef-Mimicking Systems.” Adornato noted that rejuvenating coral reefs could be the answer to reducing storm surges and breaking up wave actions that are impacting some U.S. military installations. The DARPA reefense research could also be applied to some U.S. ports and coastal communities. The vision is to: “Develop hybrid biological and engineered reef-mimicking structures to mitigate wave and storm damage that increasingly threaten DOD (Department of Defense) personnel and infrastructure.”
NETHERLANDS
Vera Konings, Flood Risk Advisor, Municipality of Rotterdam, who discussed “Regional Flood Risk Management Strategy for the Rotterdam Region – urban areas and port” said that the city of Rotterdam has been successful in improving protections from storm surges and flooding as well as working with the Port of Rotterdam to protect marine terminals. She said the Rotterdam strategy was based on three concepts: 1) Defense 2) Spatial Planning 3) Crisis.
Luca Sittoni, Senior Adviser and Manager of the Strategic Research Program Sustainability, Deltares, described: “Developing Nature-based Solutions Strategies in the Netherlands.” He said that collaborative efforts in the Netherlands and the European Union are encouraging localities to adopt more nature-based solutions. He warned that nature-based solutions cannot replace the need for barriers and physical storm surge protections. There needs to be a “green and grey” strategy, he said.
For more information please see the Ecoshape website: https://www.ecoshape.org/en/
FLORIDA
Kathryn Roscoe, Senior Flood Risk and Adaptation Specialist, Deltares, discussed: “Cascading Impacts of Flooded Infrastructure: Broward County, Florida.” She outlined the development of new analytics that can anticipate storms and flooding impact on vital infrastructure such as hospitals, police and fire stations. Focusing on Broward County, Florida the Deltares ‘criticality tools’ have also demonstrated how to support Port Everglades in a flood emergency by providing safe routes for cars and truck traffic entering and departing the Port and redirecting them toward less flood impacted routes. Roscoe said that one possibility might be to develop an app for drivers and the public to use during a storm.
LOUISIANA
Rudy Simoneaux, Engineering Chief at Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA) described: “CPRA Master Plan to Address Flooding and Land Loss Coastwide.” He said two diversion projects, Mid-Breton and Mid-Barataria, aim to channel Mississippi River sediment to Southern Louisiana coastal areas that have experienced a loss of 4,200 square miles of land. The entire Coastal Master Plan project is estimated to cost $50 billion, he said.
For more information please see: https://midbasin.coastal.la.gov/
Mark Wingate, P.E. Deputy District Engineer for Project Management, New Orleans District U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, discussed the “Report on New Orleans Storm Surge Barrier Resiliency After Hurricane Ida.” He said that the $14.6 billion investment in post-Hurricane Katrina storm surge barriers saved the City of New Orleans from serious flooding during Hurricane Ida in 2021. More needs to be done to protect other parts of Louisiana, which he estimated would cost $17 billion.
NEW YORK
Jenny Hamann, Landscape Architect, Stantec, discussed: “Staten Island Shoreline: A Layered Approach to Risk Reduction.” She said the Stantec project developed protections for a southern strip of New York’s Staten Island coast. Community involvement became a priority during the project’s development as a result of objections and opposition from some stakeholders including beach front property owners.
NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
LTC Kevin P. Arnett, PhD, PE, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Commander, San Francisco District said that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers might consider a long-term management strategy to support more beneficial use projects. These projects use dredge materials to support wetlands projects that absorb water and reduce the cost and scope of levee building. The current federal standard is focused on the lowest cost dredge delivery which often results in dredge materials being dumped offshore into the sea. Increased federal funding will be needed to support the redeployment of dredge materials for beneficial uses, he said.
Peter Mull, Project Manager Engineering with Nature, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, San Francisco District, described the “Aquatic Transfer Facility: A Strategy to Expedite Beneficial Use Projects.” He said that a proposal for an aquatic transfer facility could reduce the cost of time restoring wetland areas in the San Francisco Bay. The project was put on hold because of a single species protection concern. Mull hoped the discussion of the transfer facility at the conference would encourage the concept’s reconsideration. Mull noted that a dredging project to restore a wetlands in Marin County, California is stalled because of the high cost of dredge material delivery, but could be restarted utilizing the aquatic transfer facility. The facility would speed deployment of dredge materials and lower costs.
Luisa Valiela, Environmental Protection Specialist, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, discussed: “Progress Report on SF Bay’s Regulatory Integration Team (BRRIT).” She says progress has been made reducing the permit approval times for San Francisco Bay projects utilizing an inter-agency collaboration and insisting that project applicants be better prepared when applying for permits.
Len Materman, Chief Executive Officer, San Mateo County Flood and Sea Level Rise Resiliency District, discussed how his agency is developing shoreline protections for San Mateo County, California. The projects include one to help protect San Francisco International Airport from higher sea levels and flooding.
TEXAS
Meri Davlasheridze, Assistant Professor, Department of Marine Sciences, Texas A&M University at Galveston, provided the: “Update on the Texas Coastal Spine Project.” She said Texas is making progress on the proposed $29 billion Texas Coastal Spine project which will increase coastal protections for Texas along the Gulf Coast in the case of a storm or hurricane. The project includes storm barrier gates that will be closed during a storm to protect Galveston Bay and the Port of Houston. The design for the Texas barriers is based on the Maeslant storm surge barriers that protect the City of Rotterdam.
The series of coastal storm risk management and ecosystem restoration projects took a step closer to reality Sept. 10 with the release of a final feasibility report and final environmental impact statement from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Texas General Land Office (GLO). The study looked at more than 3,300 miles of estuarine shoreline from Cameron County at the southern point of Texas to Orange County on the border of Louisiana. The study recommends “multiple lines of defense for the Texas coast.”[3]
Davlasheridze said that the Coastal Spine projects’ long-term benefit to Texas was confirmed by a Texas A&M study that she and a colleague produced. However, the project may not be completed for 15-20 years due to preconstruction, engineering and design taking 2-5 years and 10-15 years for construction ‘depending on construction.”
Antonia Sebastian, Assistant Professor, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Department of Earth, Marine and Environmental Sciences, discussed: “Shortfalls of Houston Flood and Insurance Coverage During Hurricane Harvey.” The impact of heavy rain on Houston during Hurricane Harvey in 2017 and the impact of Hurricane Florence in 2018 on the Carolina coast argues for more assessment of the effects of rain on urban areas outside of the flood plains. She said climate change is having a worsening effect on flooding and “better estimates of current and future flood hazards are urgently needed to help identify at-risk properties.” She added that federal flood insurance provides critical protection to homeowners and the community.
FLOOD INSURANCE STRATEGIES
Kathleen Schaefer, PhD student in Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of California, Davis, former FEMA engineer and flood insurance specialist, discussed the “S.F Bay Area Flood Exposures & Insurance Strategies to Address Them.” She warned that flood risk is a community responsibility and not a FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) responsibility and that the federal government “is unlikely to come to your aid.” A proactive strategy is needed. She noted that some insurance companies are working with communities to provide “flood risk reduction improvements combined with insurance coverage.” A collaboration by communities with insurance companies is essential to protect against future flooding risks that have been amplified by climate change. She cited a collaboration with the insurance company Munich Re which has taken a proactive position providing insurance for vulnerable communities and in less developed countries. [4]
ONE OPERATOR DREDGER
Peter Dreyfuss, Chief Operating Officer, Watermaster North America, discussed: “Building a Modern Dredging Fleet for the United States.” He described the one operator dredger that Watermaster is building in the United States for shallow draft dredging of 20 feet and less.
The Watermaster, originally designed and built in Finland, has been built in Michigan with the first vessel sold for deployment in New York state.
Harri Uusi-Rauva, Vice President, Sales Watermaster (Finland) demonstrated how the dredgers are being used in Asia and Africa to clear out rivers and restore natural flows of waterways.
DESALINATION STRATEGIES
Randy Truby, President, RL Truby & Associates, spoke about, “The Urgency of a Desalination Mobilization to Address Drought & Fires in Western States.” Truby noted that “Desalination is a tool that has changed and improved over the last 50 years and that combined with improved wastewater treatment and new artificial intelligence systems driven by companies such as Synauta can “realistically reduce energy consumption at new desalination plants by as much as 10%.”
For drought-stricken states like California, desalination plants can provide additional water supplies so as to free up additional water to flow to California’s San Joaquin Valley where agricultural growers are facing a growing loss of agricultural land. Truby noted the investment in desalination in the San Diego area had made the region more successful in weathering the current drought impacting Western states. He also noted that global value of new construction of desalination plants has risen from $5 billion to $9 billion. He recommended the new Waterfountain technology being developed by Oisann Engineering
Kyle Hopkins, Partner, Oisann Engineering (Norway), discussed: “Mobilizing Partners to Support a National Desalination Initiative.” He said the company’s Waterfountain desalination module has been tested offshore at 300-meter depths. The first commercially available module is scheduled for deployment in 2022. The Norwegian company believes its technology will eliminate the negative impacts of generating excessive brine and harming marine life that has been a criticism of land-based desalination plants. In the case of drought-stricken California, Hopkins argued that the Waterfountain technology could be coupled with proposed offshore wind farms for California that might power new desalination plants. This could create an offshore fleet of renewably powered desalination vessels, using Waterfountain technology, that could pump fresh water back into California coastal freshwater tables at reduced costs compared to diesel-powered plants. The offshore wind farms could assure that desalination plants operate with a reduced carbon footprint.
FOOTNOTES
[1] https://www.npr.org/2021/03/29/982174644/ever-given-partially-afloat-as-salvage-teams-race-to-reopen-suez-canal
[2] https://www.ship-technology.com/features/size-matters-inside-tuas-mega-port-project-singapore/
[3] https://www.enr.com/articles/52416-corps-releases-final-report-on-29b-texas-gulf-coast-hurricane-defense-plan
[4] https://www.munichre.com/en/company/media-relations/media-information-and-corporate-news/media-information/2021/media-information-2021-11-03.html?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=munichre&utm_term=ca70752c-02d8-4935-9d92-d194012c32ea&utm_campaign=cop26