Lake Salvador Shoreline Protection
Demonstration
Project
Combined with Lake Cataouatche, Lake Salvador is a large open water body directly south of New Orleans and the Mississippi River and east of the Salvador Wildlife management Area in St. Charles Parish, Louisiana. Shoreline retreat averages 13 feet per year in the Lake Salvador area and is primarily a result of wave-generated erosion. The purpose of this demonstration project was to test various constructed breakwaters in providing shoreline erosion protection, specifically in areas with soils of highly organic, unconsolidated sediments. Approximately 1000 linear feet of four different breakwater structures (grated apex, geotextile tube, angled timber fence, and vinyl sheet pile) were constructed in waters three feet deep approximately 400 feet from the northwestern shoreline of Lake Salvador. The second aspect of this project consisted of the construction of approximately 10,000 linear feet of a riprap breakwater from the tip of the peninsula created at the confluence of Lake Salvador and Bayou des Allemands entering from the west. The construction of this project was completed in June 1998.
