Levees. Floodwalls, & Floodgates

Charles, St. John the Baptist, and St. James Parishes, LA - Burk-Kleinpeter, Inc., was selected by the Pontchartrain Levee District and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), New Orleans District, to conduct a feasibility study. The mission of the West Shore Lake Pontchartrain Hurricane Protection Project was to provide hurricane protection to existing developments in the Montz, LaPlace, Reserve, and Garyville areas. Protection was provided from the Upper Guide Levee of the Bonnet Carré Floodway westward through the LaPlace area to the Maurepas Diversion Levee along the Hope Canal, and included protection for portions of I-10, I-55 and U.S. 51. These roadways were designated hurricane evacuation routes for this area and the New Orleans Metropolitan area.

The Pontchartrain Levee District, St. Charles Parish, St. John the Baptist Parish, and the USACE analyzed a levee alignment acceptable to all parties, BKI then created a finalized feasibility study report and draft environmental impact statement which was submitted to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Regional and Headquarter offices for approval. The alternative alignment concept has been accepted by the Corps and has been incorporated into the feasibility study and the draft environmental impact statement with favorable benefit to cost ratios. Three alignments were fully analyzed as part of the feasibility study and the draft environmental impact statement.

BKI’s assignment on the project included a technical review of the draft feasibility study, development of a third levee alignment, and the completion of portions of the feasibility study and the draft environmental impact statement. The portions of the Feasibility Study that BKI was responsible for included the alignment study, internal drainage analysis, levee design, floodwall design, floodgate design, pump station design, drainage design, MCASES MII cost estimating, and project coordination.

Burk-Kleinpeter, Inc., (BKI), performed a suite of professional services under multiple task orders, both consecutive and concurrent, for the purposes of constructing a new flood risk reduction project for the west bank of St. Charles Parish including creating all designs in accordance with HSDRRS standards. Project features include nine miles of earthen levee, access roads, and a borrow canal, detention basins, interior drainage culverts, levee ramps, a vehicular bridge, pile supported concrete T-wall frontal protection structures for three (3) existing drainage pumping stations, a 15-foot swing gate, tidal exchange structures, a marine flood control structure, and three (3) new drainage pumping stations. The discharge lines of the existing drainage pumping stations were extended through the floodwalls, and butterfly vales were placed on the lines to prevent backflow.

The new Willowridge Drainage Pumping Station has a capacity of 300 cfs and a 23-acre detention pond at the station intake. The station has vertical axial/mix flow pumps driven by electric motors. The new Ellington Drainage Pumping Station has a capacity of 500 cfs. BKI designed the station, along with an automatic siphon recovery and vacuum breaking system to reduce motor horsepower and prevent backflow through the discharge pipes designed to cross over the levee, eliminating the need for discharge gates. The station is equipped with four 125 cfs vertical pumps driven by electric motors. The new Magnolia Ridge Drainage Pumping Station has a capacity of 500 cfs made up of with four (4) 125 cfs vertical pumps driven by vertical diesel engines that qualify for Tier III emission standards. All machinery in these drainage pumping stations is protected by a weatherproof superstructure designed to 150 mile per hour three second wind gusts. The new stations have catenary type trash screens and cleaners and can be operated remotely through telemetry.

The new Paradis Canal Flood Control Structure consists of a 22.5-foot-high pile supported concrete T-wall with a 15.5’ by 22.5’ vertical lift gate offering small vessel vertical clearance and two (2) 10’ x 10’ sluice gates serves to prevent tidal water from flowing northward along the Paradis Canal. All designs are in accordance to the USACE’s design requirements.

Burk-Kleinpeter, Inc., (BKI), selected by the US Army Corps of Engineers - New Orleans District (USACE), to perform engineering design services, design document reports, development of plans and specifications, right-of-way drawings, quantity takeoffs, cost estimating, and engineering during advertising and construction for a new 2,775- foot-long floodwall and a 4,230-foot-long earthen levee along the Harvey Canal in Jefferson Parish. an 18-ft high T-wall on battered steel H-piles, three (3) 35-ft roller gates, one (1) 60 foot roller gate, and numerous utility relocations.

A portion of the floodwall makes up a new frontal protection floodwall in front of the existing Hero Drainage Pump Station. Work on this portion of the flooodwall included extending the pump station discharge lines through the new floodwall, new pipe support bents, a new stilling basin, and new discharge bells for each of the discharge lines. A total of 10 discharge lines ranging in size from 54-inch to 160-inch had to be addressed. Butterfly valves were placed on each of the discharge lines to prevent backflow when the pumps are not running. The design included air suppression of the horizontal pumps to prevent backflow. Construction documents had to be coordinated with Jefferson Parish to minimize impacts to the pumping capacity during construction.