Restoration of Lake Erie Seawall to Accommodate Climate Change

Cyclic water level variations and resulting large wave action, ice loading, and coastal processes have deteriorated and undermined the two seawalls built in the early 70s to better protect a historic site in Lake Erie. The main objective of this project was to repair and restore 579 m of north and 457 m of south seawalls. A hybrid numerical modeling approach was developed to determine wave overtopping rates using a Reynold Averaged Navier Stokes-Volume Of Fluid (RANS-VOF) model (Mongoose), including reflection characteristics of existing and proposed structures in combination with a spectral wave model, which in turn was used to assess the impact on neighboring properties due to raising of the seawalls. A semi-empirical wave overtopping equation was derived as a function of relative freeboard R_c/H_m0. The model results revealed that the proposed structure did not create adverse impact on the neighboring shorelines.