SEAWALL

SEAWALL
• A seawall (or sea wall) is a form of coastal defence constructed where the sea, and
associated coastal processes, impact directly upon the landforms of the coast. The
purpose of a sea wall is to protect areas of human habitation, conservation and
leisure activities from the action of tides, waves, or tsunamis.
• As a seawall is a static feature it will conflict with the dynamic nature of the coast
and impede the exchange of sediment between land and sea. The shoreline is part
of the coastal interface which is exposed to a wide range of erosional processes
arising from fluvial, aeolian and terrestrial sources, meaning that a combination of
denudational processes will work against a seawall.
• The coast is generally a high-energy, dynamic environment with spatial variations
over a wide range of timescales. The coast is exposed to erosion by rivers and
winds as well as the sea, so that a combination of denudational processes will
work against a sea wall. Because of these persistent natural forces, sea walls need
to be maintained (and eventually replaced) to maintain their effectiveness.
TYPES • There are three main types of seawalls: vertical, curved or stepped, and mounds, as set
out in the table:
 ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF
SEAWALLS ACCORDING TO SHORT (1999)
ADVANTAGES
Long term solution in comparison to soft beach
nourishment.
Effectively minimizes loss of life in extreme events and
damage to property caused by erosion.
Can exist longer in high energy environments in
comparison to ‘soft’ engineering methods.
Can be used for recreation and sightseeing.
Forms a hard and strong coastal defense.
DISADVANTAGES
Expensive to construct.
May be considered aesthetically unattractive.
Reflected energy of waves leading to scour at base.
Can disrupt natural shoreline processes and destroy
shoreline habitats such as wetlands and intertidal
beaches.
Altered sediment transport processes can disrupt sand
movement that can lead to increased erosion down drift
from the structure. This can cause beaches to dissipate,
rendering them useless for beach goers.
 ISSUES
• Sea level rise - creates an issue for seawalls worldwide as it raises both the mean normal water level
and the height of waves during extreme weather events, which the current seawall heights may be
unable to cope with.

• Hydrostatic water pressure - Seawalls, like all retaining walls, must relieve the buildup of
water pressure. Water pressure buildup is caused when groundwater is not drained from behind the
seawall. Groundwater against a seawall can be from the area's natural water-table, rain percolating into
the ground behind the wall and waves overtopping the wall. The water-table can also rise during periods
of high water (high tide). Lack of adequate drainage can cause the seawall to buckle, move, bow, crack
or collapse. Sinkholes may also develop as the escaping water pressure erodes soil through or around
the drainage system.
ISSUES
• Extreme events - also pose a problem as it is not easy for people to predict or imagine the
strength of hurricane or storm induced waves compared to normal, expected wave patterns. An
extreme event can dissipate hundreds of times more energy than everyday waves, and
calculating structures which will stand the force of coastal storms is difficult and, often the
outcome can become unaffordable. For example, Omaha Beach seawall in New Zealand was
designed to prevent erosion from everyday waves only, and when a storm in 1976 carved out ten
metres behind the existing seawall, the whole structure was destroyed.
• Other Issues - Some further issues include: lack of long term trend data of seawall effects due to
a relatively short duration of data records; modelling limitations and comparisons of different
projects and their effects being invalid or unequal due to different beach types; materials;
currents; and environments. Lack of maintenance is also a major issue with sea walls.
LAND RECLAMATION
LAND RECLAMATION
• Land reclamation, usually known as reclamation, and also known
as land fill (not to be confused with a landfill), is the process of
creating new land from oceans, seas, riverbeds or lake beds. The
land reclaimed is known as reclamation ground or land fill.
• In some jurisdictions, including parts of the United States, the term
"reclamation" can refer to returning disturbed lands to an improved
state.
• In Alberta, Canada, for example, reclamation is defined by the
provincial government as "The process of reconverting disturbed
land to its former or other productive uses.
• In Oceania it is frequently referred to as land rehabilitation.
 METHODS OF LAND RECLAMATION

Land reclamation can be achieved with a number of different methods.

• The simplest method involves filling the area with large amounts of heavy rock and/or cement
, then filling with clay and dirt until the desired height is reached. The process is called
"infilling" and the material used to fill the space is generally called "infill".
• Draining of submerged wetlands is often used to reclaim land for agricultural use.
Deep cement mixing is used typically in situations in which the material displaced by either
dredging or draining may be contaminated and hence needs to be contained.
• Land dredging is also another method of land reclamation. It is the removal of sediments and
debris from the bottom of a body of water. It is commonly used for maintaining reclaimed
land masses as sedimentation, a natural process, fills channels and harbors naturally.
 RECLAMATION METHODS

• There are several methods of land reclamation, depending upon the type of fill material,
foundation soil, topography of the seabed, the availability of equipment, and allowable
fine material for reclamation.
• Dry method
• Hydraulic Reclamation Method
• Rehandling from a Rehandling Pit
• Hydraulic Filling
• Sand Spreading
• Pumping Inside the Bunds
 1. DRY METHOD

• The dry method is suitable for filling material from land sources, especially rock, hillcut and clay fill. Filling or
transporting clay fill material into the sea would create viscous slurry which would take much longer to become
usable land.
• As explained earlier, the dry method usually uses a truck or conveyor belt to transport fill material to extend the
land towards the sea
• Generally, the dry method works well for foreshore locations with underlying competent seabed soil. If the
seabed soil is weak, a mud wave will be created in front of the fill because of displacement. In that case, a
greater quantity of fill material would be required.
• In addition, the dry method usually results in a loose profile of fill especially when granular soil is used as fill
material
 2. HYDRAULIC RECLAMATION METHOD

• A wet method of reclamation is implemented when fill material is obtained from an offshore
borrow source. However, this method is only suitable for granular fill, which has good
drainage characteristics. As explained earlier, the method of filling is selected based on the
availability of equipment, type of seabed soil, topography of seabed, and the production rate
required.
2.1 Direct dumping
• A direct dumping method is used when the seabed is deep or the underlying seabed soil is
soft. A bottom-opening barge usually carries fill material from the borrow source and either
sails with a self-propeller or pushed by the powerful tugboat to the designated location. At
the location, fill material is dumped by opening the bottom of the barge.
 3 REHANDLING FROM A REHANDLING PIT

• Sometimes, if cutter suction hopper trailers are not available or direct dumping is not feasible, a
rehandling method is used. The rehandling method involves transporting sand by barges and
dumping the fill material temporarily in the pit for storage. The pit should have a storage capacity of
a few million cubic meters.
• Rehandling pit locations are generally selected at natural depressions on a firm seabed or created by
dredging. To create a rehandling pit, one needs to consider the stability of the pit slope. Such an
operation would require two stationary cutter suction dredgers, one at the borrow source and another
at the rehandling pit. In that case, sand barges are required to transport sand to the rehandling pit.
• Alternatively, one cutter suction hopper dredger dredges the sand at the borrow source and transports
it to the rehandling pit, while another stationary cutter suction dredger will operate at the rehandling
pit to fill the reclamation area.
 4. HYDRAULIC FILLING

• The hydraulic filling method is suitable for granular fill. Generally, this method is used when filling is
carried out from an offshore source, either from a rehandling pit, as explained earlier, or from a trailer
suction hopper dredger. In the case of pumping from a cutter suction hopper dredger, the fill material is
dredged from the borrow source with its own trailer suction dredger which is moved adjacent to the
reclamation area and then pumped through the discharge pipe.
• Bulldozers are used to grade and spread the fill material around the discharge pipe. The discharge pipe is
usually set slightly above the required finished level. Pumping is usually done with a mixture of fill
material and water. The ratio of fill material to water is adjusted according to the grain size of the fill
material. A large ratio of material to water would lead to wearing of the inner walls of the sand
transportation pipe.
• On the other hand, a smaller ratio of material to water will reduce the production rate. After a certain
amount of land has formed, the pipes are extended accordingly.
 5. SAND SPREADING

• Sand spreading is implemented when a shallow seabed is encountered or when the seabed soil
is too soft. When sand spreading is carried out, a rehandling pit is generally necessary. The
spreader is mounted on a small floating barge. The end of the discharge pipe is usually closed
and several perforations are provided along the last two to three sections of the discharge
pipes. Sand is discharged through the perforations with water.

• Since sand spreading is not stationary and moving from one end to another is required,
moving the spreader is made it possible with a winch system and a heavy duty bulldozer. Sand
deposits using a sand spreading method usually results in a loose profile
6. PUMPING INSIDE THE BUNDS

• Reclamation can start from the coastal line and advance towards the sea. However, this
type of reclamation may lead to great loss of fill material because of wave and current
action. Therefore, sometimes reclamation is carried out within a protected area after a
bund has been formed around the proposed reclamation area. In this way, losses
caused by wave and current action can be minimized. However, this type of
reclamation requires an outlet for the overflow of water and fine material, otherwise
mud can be trapped at or near the corner of the bund.
RAIN GARDEN
RAIN GARDEN

• Rain gardens, also called bioretention facilities, are one of a variety of practices designed to
treat polluted stormwater runoff. Rain gardens are designed landscape sites that reduce the flow
rate, total quantity, and pollutant load of runoff from impervious urban areas like roofs,
driveways, walkways,and parking lots, and compacted lawn areas.
• Rain gardens rely on plants and natural or engineered soil medium to retain stormwater and
increase the lag time of infiltration, while remediating and filtering pollutants carried by urban
runoff. Rain gardens provide a method to reuse and optimize any rain that falls, reducing or
avoiding the need for additional irrigation.
• A benefit of planting rain gardens is the consequential decrease in ambient air and water
temperature, a mitigation that is especially effective in urban areas containing an abundance of
impervious surfaces that absorb heat in a phenomenon known as the heat-island effect
• Rain gardens can improve water quality in nearby bodies of water and recharge depleted
groundwater supply. Rain gardens also reduce the amount of polluted runoff that enters the
storm sewer system, which discharges directly to surface waters and causes erosion, water pollution
and flooding.[5] Rain gardens also reduce energy consumption by decreasing the load on conventional
stormwater infrastructure.

• Rain gardens are beneficial for many reasons; they improve water quality by filtering runoff, provide
localized flood control, create aesthetic landscaping sites, and provide diverse planting opportunities.
They also encourage wildlife and biodiversity, tie together buildings and their surrounding
environments in integrated and environmentally advantageous ways, and provide significant
solutions to important environmental problems that affect many aspects of life.
 EFFECTS OF URBAN RUNOFF

• In developed urban areas, naturally occurring depressions where storm water would pool are
typically covered by impermeable surfaces, such as asphalt, pavement, or concrete, and are
leveled for automobile use. Stormwater is directed into storm drains which may cause
overflows of combined sewer systems or pollution, erosion, or flooding of waterways
receiving the storm water runoff. Redirected stormwater is often warmer than the groundwater
normally feeding a stream, and has been linked to upset in some aquatic ecosystems primarily
through the reduction of dissolved oxygen (DO). Stormwater runoff is also a source of a wide
variety of pollutants washed off hard or compacted surfaces during rain events. These
pollutants may include volatile organic compounds, pesticides, herbicides, hydrocarbons and
trace metals
STORMWATER MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

• Stormwater management occurs on a watershed scale to prevent downstream impacts

on urban water quality.[ A watershed is maintained through the cyclical accumulation,
storage, and flow of groundwater. Naturally occurring watersheds are damaged when
they are sealed by an impervious surface, which diverts pollutant-carrying stormwater
runoff into streams. Urban watersheds are affected by greater quantities of pollutants
due to the consequences of anthropogenic activities within urban environments
• Rainfall on impermeable surfaces accumulates surface runoff containing oil, bacteria, and sediment that
eventually makes its way to streams and groundwater. Stormwater control strategies such as infiltration
gardens treat contaminated surface runoff and return processed water to the underlying soil, helping to
restore the watershed system. The effectiveness of stormwater control systems is measured by the
reduction of the amount of rainfall that becomes runoff (retention), and the lag time (rate of depletion) of
the runoff.
• Even rain gardens with small capacities for daily infiltration can create a positive cumulative impact on
mitigating urban runoff. Increasing the amount of permeable surfaces by designing rain gardens reduces
the amount of polluted stormwater that reaches natural bodies of water and recharges groundwater at a
higher rate/
• Additionally, adding a rain garden to a site that experiences excessive rainwater runoff mitigates the water
quantity load on public stormwater systems.
 BIORETENTION
• The concept of LID (low-impact design) for stormwater management is based on bioretention: a
landscape and water design practice that utilizes the chemical, biological, and physical properties of
soils, microorganisms, and plants to control the quality and quantity of water flow within a site.
• Bioretention facilities are primarily designed for water management, and can treat urban runoff,
stormwater, groundwater, and in special cases, wastewater. Carefully designed constructed wetlands are
necessary for the bioretention of sewage water or grey water, which have greater effects on human
health than the implications of treating urban runoff and rainfall.
• Environmental benefits of bioretention sites include increased wildlife diversity and habitat production
and minimized energy use and pollution.
• Prioritizing water management through natural bioretention sites eliminates the possibility of covering
the land with impermeable surfaces.
WATER TREATMENT PROCESS

• Bioretention controls the stormwater quantity through interception, infiltration,

evaporation, and transpiration. First, rainfall is captured by plant tissue (leaves and
stems) and in the soil micropores. Then, water performs infiltration - the downward
movement of water through soil - and is stored in the soil until the substrate reaches its
moisture capacity, when it begins to pool at the top of the bioretention feature. The
pooled water and water from plant and soil surfaces is then evaporated into the
atmosphere. Optimal design of bioretention sites aim for shallow pooled water to
reach a higher rate of evaporation. Water also evaporates through the leaves of the
plants in the feature and back to the atmosphere, which is a process known as
evapotranspiration.
• Bioretention controls the stormwater quality through settling, filtration, assimilation, adsorption, degradation,
and decomposition. When water pools on top of a bioretention feature, suspended solids and large particles
will settle out. Dust particles, soil particles, and other small debris are filtered out of the water as it moves
downward through the soil and interspersed plant roots. Plants take up some of the nutrients for use in their
growth processes, or for mineral storage. Dissolved chemical substances from the water also bind to the
surfaces of plant roots, soil particles, and other organic matter in the substrate and are rendered ineffective.
Soil microorganisms break down remaining chemicals and small organic matter and effectively decompose the
pollutants into a saturated soil matter.
• Even though natural water purification is based on the design of planted areas, the key components of
bioremediation are the soil quality and microorganism activity. These features are supported by plants, which
create secondary pore space to increase soil permeability, prevent soil compaction through complex root
structure growth, provide habitats for the microorganisms on the surfaces of their roots, and transport oxygen
to the soil.
 DESIGN

• Stormwater garden design encompasses a wide range of features based on the principles of bioretention. These
facilities are then organized into a sequence and incorporated into the landscape in the order that rainfall moves
from buildings and permeable surfaces to gardens, and eventually, to bodies of water. A rain garden requires an
area where water can collect and infiltrate, and plants can maintain infiltration rates, diverse microorganism
communities, and water storage capacity.
• Existing gardens can be adapted to perform like rain gardens by adjusting the landscape so that downspouts and
paved surfaces drain into existing planting areas.
• Rain gardens are at times confused with bioswales. Swales slope to a destination, while rain gardens are level;
however, a bioswale may end with a rain garden as a part of a larger stormwater management system. Drainage
ditches may be handled like bioswales and even include rain gardens in series, saving time and money on
maintenance. Part of a garden that nearly always has standing water is a water garden, wetland, or pond, and not a
rain garden. Rain gardens also differ from retention basins, where the water will infiltrate the ground at a much
slower rate, within a day or two.
SOIL AND DRAINAGE

• Collected water is filtered through the strata of soil or engineering growing soil, called
substrate. After the soil reaches its saturation limit, excess water pools on the surface of the
soil and eventually infiltrates the natural soil below. The bioretention soil mixture should
typically contain 60% sand, 20% compost, and 20% topsoil. Soils with higher
concentrations of compost have shown improved effects on filtering groundwater and
rainwater.[18] Non-permeable soil needs to be removed and replaced periodically to generate
maximum performance and efficiency if used in the bioretention system.
• Rain gardens are often located near a building's roof drainpipe (with or without
rainwater tanks). Most rain gardens are designed to be an endpoint of a building's or urban
site's drainage system with a capacity to percolate all incoming water through a series of
soil or gravel layers beneath the surface plantings.
VEGETATION
• Typical rain garden plants are herbaceous perennials and grasses, which are chosen for their porous root structure and high
growth rate. Trees and shrubs can also be planted to cover larger areas on the bioretention site. Although specific plants are
selected and designed for respective soils and climates, plants that can tolerate both saturated and dry soil are typically
used for the rain garden. They need to be maintained for maximum efficiency, and be compatible with adjacent land uses.
• It is important to plant a wide variety of species so the rain garden is functional during all climatic conditions. It is likely
that the garden will experience a gradient of moisture levels across its functional lifespan, so some drought tolerant
plantings are desirable. There are four categories of a vegetative species’ moisture tolerance that can be considered when
choosing plants for a rain garden. Wet soil is constantly full of water with long periods of pooling surface water; this
category includes swamp and marsh sites.
• Chosen vegetation needs to respect site constraints and limitations, and especially should not impede the primary function
of bioretention. Trees under power lines, or that up-heave sidewalks when soils become moist, or whose roots seek out and
clog drainage tiles can cause expensive damage. Trees generally contribute to bioretention sites the most when they are
located close enough to tap moisture in the rain garden depression, yet do not excessively shade the garden and allow for
evaporation.
POLLUTANT REMOVAL

• Rain gardens are designed to capture the initial flow of stormwater and reduce the accumulation of
toxins flowing directly into natural waterways through ground filtration. Natural remediation of
contaminated stormwater is an effective, cost-free treatment process. Directing water to flow through
soil and vegetation achieves particle pollutant capture, while atmospheric pollutants are captured in
plant membranes and then trapped in soil, where most of them begin to break down. These approaches
help to diffuse runoff, which allows contaminants to be distributed across the site instead of
concentrated.
• The primary challenge of rain garden design is predicting the types of pollutants and the acceptable
loads of pollutants the rain garden's filtration system can process during high impact storm events.
Contaminants may include organic material, such as animal waste and oil spills, as well as inorganic
material, such as heavy metals and fertilizer nutrients. These pollutants are known to cause harmful
over-promotion of plant and algal growth if they seep into streams and rivers. The challenge of
predicting pollutant loads is specifically acute when a rain event occurs after a longer dry period
PERMEABLE
PAVING
 PERMEABLE PAVING
• Permeable paving is a method of paving vehicle and pedestrian pathways to enable infiltration of
stormwater runoff. Permeable pavement surfaces typically include pervious concrete, porous asphalt,
paving stones and interlocking pavers. Unlike traditional impervious paving materials, permeable
paving systems allow stormwater to percolate and infiltrate through the pavement and into the aggregate
layers and/or soil below. In addition to reducing surface runoff, permeable paving systems can trap
suspended solids, thereby filtering pollutants from stormwater. The goal is to control stormwater at the
source, reduce runoff and improve water quality by filtering pollutants in the subsurface layers.
• Permeable pavement surfaces are made of either a porous material that enables stormwater to flow
through it or nonporous blocks spaced so that water can flow between the gaps. Stormwater flows into
and is stored in an underlying stone reservoir. Permeable pavement is commonly used on roads, paths
and parking lots subject to light vehicular traffic, such as cycle-paths, service or emergency access
lanes, road and airport shoulders, and residential sidewalks and driveways.
DESCRIPTION AND APPLICATIONS

• Permeable solutions can be based on: porous asphalt and concrete surfaces, concrete pavers
(permeable interlocking concrete paving systems – PICP), or polymer-based grass pavers, grids
and geocells. Porous pavements and concrete pavers (actually the voids in-between them)
enable stormwater to drain through a stone base layer for on-site infiltration and filtering.
Polymer based grass grid or cellular paver systems provide load bearing reinforcement for
unpaved surfaces of gravel or turf.
• Grass pavers, plastic turf reinforcing grids (PTRG), and geocells (cellular confinement systems)
are honeycombed 3D grid-cellular systems, made of thin-walled HDPE plastic or other polymer
alloys. These provide grass reinforcement, ground stabilization and gravel retention.
• In new suburban growth, porous pavements protect watersheds by delaying and filtering the
surge flow. In existing built-up areas and towns, redevelopment and reconstruction are
opportunities to implement stormwater water management practices. Permeable paving is an
important component in Low Impact Development (LID), a process for land development in
the United States that attempts to minimize impacts on water quality and the similar concept
of sustainable drainage systems (SuDS) in the United Kingdom.

• The infiltration capacity of the native soil is a key design consideration for determining the
depth of base rock for stormwater storage or for whether an underdrain system is needed.
 ADVANTAGES
• MANAGING RUNOFF : Permeable paving surfaces have been demonstrated as effective in
managing runoff from paved surfaces
• CONTROLLING POLLUTANTS: Permeable paving surfaces keep the pollutants in place in the
soil or other material underlying the roadway, and allow water seepage to groundwater recharge
while preventing the stream erosion problems. They capture the heavy metals that fall on them,
preventing them from washing downstream and accumulating inadvertently in the environment
• TREES: Permeable pavements may give urban trees the rooting space they need to grow to full
size. A "structural-soil" pavement base combines structural aggregate with soil; a porous surface
admits vital air and water to the rooting zone. This integrates healthy ecology and thriving cities,
with the living tree canopy above, the city's traffic on the ground, and living tree roots below.
DISADVANTAGES
• Runoff volumes - Permeable pavements are designed to replace Effective Impervious
Areas (EIAs), not to manage stormwater from other impervious surfaces on site.
• Pollutant load - Runoff across some land uses may become contaminated, where
pollutant concentrations exceed those typically found in stormwater.
• Weight and traffic volumes - Reference sources differ on whether low or medium
traffic volumes and weights are appropriate for porous pavements.
• Siting - ermeable pavements may not be appropriate when land surrounding or
draining into the pavement exceeds a 20 percent slope, where pavement is down slope
from buildings or where foundations have piped drainage at their footers.
• Climate - Cold climates may present special challenges. Road salt contains chlorides that could migrate
through the porous pavement into groundwater.
• Cost - Some estimates put the cost of permeable paving at two to three times that of conventional asphalt
paving. Using permeable paving, however, can reduce the cost of providing larger or more stormwater
BMPs on site, and these savings should be factored into any cost analysis.
• Longevity and maintenance - Some permeable pavements require frequent maintenance because grit or
gravel can block the open pores. This is commonly done by industrial vacuums that suck up all the
sediment. If maintenance is not carried out on a regular basis, the porous pavements can begin to function
more like impervious surfaces.
• Efflorescence - Efflorescence is a hardened crystalline deposit of salts, principally calcium carbonates,
which migrate from the center of concrete or masonry materials to the surface, where they form insoluble
deposits that harden on the surface.
 TYPES OF PERMEABLE PAVEMENT

• Pervious concrete - Pervious concrete is widely available, can bear frequent traffic, and is
universally accessible. Pervious concrete quality depends on the installer's knowledge and
experience.
• Plastic grids - Plastic grids allow for a 100% porous system using structural grid systems for
containing and stabilizing either gravel or turf. These grids come in a variety of shapes and sizes
depending on use; from pathways to commercial parking lots.
• Porous asphalt - is produced and placed using the same methods as conventional
asphalt concrete; it differs in that fine (small) aggregates are omitted from the asphalt mixture. The
remaining large, single-sized aggregate particles leave open voids that give the material its
porosity and permeability.
• Single-sized aggregate - without any binder, e.g. loose gravel, stone-chippings, is another
alternative. Although it can only be safely used in walkways and very low-speed, low-traffic
settings, e.g. car-parks and drives, its potential cumulative area is great.
• Porous turf - if properly constructed, can be used for occasional parking like that at churches
and stadia. Plastic turf reinforcing grids can be used to support the increased load.
• Permeable interlocking concrete pavements - are concrete units with open, permeable spaces
between the units. They give an architectural appearance, and can bear both light and heavy
traffic, particularly interlocking concrete pavers, excepting high-volume or high-speed roads.
• Permeable clay brick pavements - are fired clay brick units with open, permeable spaces between
the units. Clay pavers provide a durable surface that allows stormwater runoff to permeate through
the joints.
• Resin bound paving - is a mixture of resin binder and aggregate. Clear resin is used to fully coat
each aggregate particle before laying.
• Stabilized decomposed granite - is a mixture of a non-resin binder and aggregate (decomposed
granite).
• Elastomerically bound recycled glass porous pavement consisting of bonding processed post-
consumer glass with a mixture of resins, pigments, granite and binding agents.