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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Oxford, Mississippi » National Sedimentation Laboratory » Watershed Physical Processes Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #394578
Research Project: Computational Tools and a Decision Support System for Management of Sediment and Water Quality in Agricultural Watersheds

Location: Watershed Physical Processes Research

Title: Testing of a full-scale floating wave barrier for reducing wave erosion in a working irrigation reservoir

Author
item ROSELL, WILLIAM - University Of Mississippi
item OZEREN, YAVUZ - University Of Mississippi
item Wren, Daniel

Submitted to: Mississippi Water Resources Research Conference Proceedings
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 2/11/2022
Publication Date: 4/13/2022
Citation: Rosell, W., Ozeren, Y., Wren, D.G. 2022. Testing of a full-scale floating wave barrier for reducing wave erosion in a working irrigation reservoir. Mississippi Water Resources Research Conference Proceedings. 2022.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: In order to reduce the demand on groundwater resources, on-farm irrigation reservoirs are used for storing irrigation water in the Mississippi Delta region. The embankments surrounding these reservoirs are routinely damaged by wind-generated waves, resulting in high maintenance costs over time. It is thus necessary to identify cost-effective methods to protect the inner slopes of the embankments from wave action. Floating wave barriers (breakwaters) have been shown to reduce wave impact on offshore and coastal structures, and by identifying a simple, cost-effective design that maintains good efficacy, the use of a floating breakwater should reduce the frequency of required maintenance associated with the use of irrigation reservoirs. In this study, the use of floating pipe breakwater for reducing wave energy was investigated. Specifically, an efficient design for the cable system that holds the floating barriers in place was needed. The proposed breakwater uses common HDPE irrigation piping moored to the reservoir bottom by steel cables. A model floating breakwater was constructed and tested for various mooring configurations and a variety of wave characteristics in a wave tank at the USDA-ARS National Sedimentation Laboratory. Results of these experiments will be discussed in this presentation, as well as details of a full-scale floating pipe breakwater for deployment in a working irrigation reservoir.