The Use of Numerical Models for the Buena Vista Lagoon Restoration Feasibility Analyses

A feasibility study was conducted for wetland restoration alternatives for the Buena Vista Lagoon Restoration Feasibility Study with three different hydrologic regimes — fresh water, salt water, and mixed water (combination of fresh and salt water). The alternatives were evaluated based on flood impacts, maintenance dredging requirements, and habitat distribution. A modeling approach was developed to help compare the three alternatives with the existing condition. Evaluation of each alternative was further complicated due to the different physical processes occurring within each alternative. Physical processes evaluated include watershed loadings (e.g., fresh water flows, fluvial sediments, and nutrient loadings), lagoon hydrodynamics, lagoon salinity, lagoon sedimentation, as well as coastal processes (e.g., tidal inlet/outlet stability and littoral sedimentation) for salt and mixed water configurations. Quantifications of these processes were conducted using a combination of numerical models and analytical methods enabling the linkages of multiple processes.