Constructed expanding Wetland | Margot Krasojevic

Broken Levee piers

Floating levee piers to trap sediment and divert freshwater:

This project adresses the rising water levels in the Mississippi river delta whose coastal plane is one of the largest wetlands and drainage basins in the United States, it drains on average 41% of the contiguous United States into the Gulf of Mexico at an average rate of 470,000 cubic feet per second.

 The project introduces a series of tethered floating levee piers to divert rising water levels, these striated interlocking elements are positioned where freshwater meets saltwater to the east of the delta, protecting the freshwater wetlands by filtering and diverting.

The structure itself is a series of interlaced piers that project from the coastline, made from post consumer plastic fibre mesh, these `tentacles’ are released from the ceramicrete levee shell sections upon contact with rising water levels, they unfold and inflate into the oncoming swell sinking as they absorb water creating an artficial barrier trapping sediment and absorbing flood water. Each fully immersed tentacle expands and falls on top of the next creating a temporary wall preventing water from flooding the wetlands and destroying the natural habitat. Once the floods stabilise the tentacles are emptied, using pumps the water is redirected out of the delta and released in more environmentally stable landcapes which may require water irrigation. The tentacles are released on impact with floodwater pressure.

These interlocking levee’s are open ended structures that capture sediment and allow for the natural movement across the delta, acting like nets trapping and creating a framework onto which the sediment can lodge and grow in depth and density in order to increase the land building sediment whilst attempting to dampen waves functioning as a breakwater, absorbing energy and protecting the shoreline from further damage.