Identifying and Projecting Water Quality Outcomes of Canal Backfilling Restoration at Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve
USGS researchers and their partners will develop a coupled hydrodynamic and water quality modeling system; calibrate and validate the models; assess and predict outcomes of a canal backfilling restoration project on key water quality attributes; and run the modeling system under a suite of climate change scenarios.
The Science Issue and Relevance: The construction of canals for oil and gas production across coastal Louisiana has been one of the major contributors to the loss of wetlands and the ecosystem services they provide. The water quality of waterbodies in the Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve (JELA) has been affected by human activities including agriculture, aquaculture, urban development, wastewater treatment through the flow of freshwater with elevated nutrients (specifically, nitrogen and phosphorous) into park canals (Figure 1). The removal of spoil banks and backfilling canals is a simple and cost-effective restoration approach to alleviate inundation and salinity stress to vegetated wetlands, enhancing the sustainability of these habitats and the ecosystem services they provide. However, there are no studies on the assessment of canal backfilling restoration on JELA park-wide water quality dynamics.
Methodology for Addressing the Issue: We will 1) develop an innovative, high spatial resolution, process-driven coupled hydrodynamic and water quality modeling system for JELA’s entire Barataria Preserve; 2) calibrate and validate the hydrodynamic and water quality models using data collected from previous studies and this research; 3) assess and predict outcomes of this federally-funded canal backfilling restoration project on key JELA water quality attributes; and 4) run this modeling system under a suite of well-founded climate change scenarios.
Future Steps: This work will enable regional scientists, coastal restoration planners, and resource managers to better understand the processes and mechanisms controlling water quality and nutrient transport in canals and adjacent wetlands under the various situations of within-Preserve canal backfilling. Information gathered by this project can also be used to assist ecosystem-based decision-making and adaptive management beyond the boundaries of JELA’s Barataria Preserve.
USGS researchers and their partners will develop a coupled hydrodynamic and water quality modeling system; calibrate and validate the models; assess and predict outcomes of a canal backfilling restoration project on key water quality attributes; and run the modeling system under a suite of climate change scenarios.
The Science Issue and Relevance: The construction of canals for oil and gas production across coastal Louisiana has been one of the major contributors to the loss of wetlands and the ecosystem services they provide. The water quality of waterbodies in the Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve (JELA) has been affected by human activities including agriculture, aquaculture, urban development, wastewater treatment through the flow of freshwater with elevated nutrients (specifically, nitrogen and phosphorous) into park canals (Figure 1). The removal of spoil banks and backfilling canals is a simple and cost-effective restoration approach to alleviate inundation and salinity stress to vegetated wetlands, enhancing the sustainability of these habitats and the ecosystem services they provide. However, there are no studies on the assessment of canal backfilling restoration on JELA park-wide water quality dynamics.
Methodology for Addressing the Issue: We will 1) develop an innovative, high spatial resolution, process-driven coupled hydrodynamic and water quality modeling system for JELA’s entire Barataria Preserve; 2) calibrate and validate the hydrodynamic and water quality models using data collected from previous studies and this research; 3) assess and predict outcomes of this federally-funded canal backfilling restoration project on key JELA water quality attributes; and 4) run this modeling system under a suite of well-founded climate change scenarios.
Future Steps: This work will enable regional scientists, coastal restoration planners, and resource managers to better understand the processes and mechanisms controlling water quality and nutrient transport in canals and adjacent wetlands under the various situations of within-Preserve canal backfilling. Information gathered by this project can also be used to assist ecosystem-based decision-making and adaptive management beyond the boundaries of JELA’s Barataria Preserve.