Bendway
Weir Bank Protection for Streams & Smaller Rivers (unrevetted
bends) - David L. Derrick
Name:
David
Derrick
Telephone: 601-638-7717
Cellular: 601-218-7717
d_derrick@r2d-eng.com
Based on the prototype performance of the Bendway Weir sites on the
Mississippi River and the aforementioned model studies, Mr. Derrick was
tasked by the Corp’s Demonstration Erosion Control (DEC)
program
with applying state-of-the-art Bendway Weir and dormant willow post
technology to the realm of small stream bank protection. An 11,700-ft
reach of stream with 14 bends (Harland Creek, located in central
Mississippi) was chosen as the test site. A total of 54 Bendway Weirs,
three sections of LPSTP, and 9,383 willow posts were placed in the
study reach. Overall results after ten years have proved promising,
resulting in a quickly maturing and stable project.
Advantages of Bendway Weirs in the realm of streambank stabilization
are: flow can be redirected and predicted (even downstream of the weir
field), flow within the weir field is considered controlled, weirs work
best under high-flow, high-energy conditions, costs are competitive or
lower than traditional methods, weirs blend well with other bank
protection methods and in fact have been retrofitted into existing
under-performing projects to improve hydraulic performance of those
projects.
Bendway Weirs have proven to be remarkably adaptable. From 1992 to
present Mr. Derrick has designed several dozen projects in most
sections of the country utilizing Bendway Weirs (in either stand-alone
configuration or in combination with other stabilization methods) to
solve complex river and stream problems such as stream misalignment
with highway bridges, environmental restoration and improvement,
reduction of non-point source pollution, bank stabilization, and
petroleum and water-supply pipeline protection. |