Waterway Capacity Study (WCS) of the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Waterway Capacity Study (WCS) of the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway between Mobile Bay and Wolf Bay

Taylor Engineering, Inc.

Christopher Bender, Ph.D., P.E. John Adams, P.E. Terry Hull, P.E.

Introduction: Location

Scope of the WCS

• Determine the effects of increased boating
• commercial marine traffic and navigation
• safety
• crowding
• aesthetics
• socio-economic factors
• environmental considerations
• Assess and evaluate existing and future FLC

usage

Methodology: Overview

• Literature Review
• Data collection:

– study area’s physical and environmental conditions – existing channel policies and design – existing waterway use – growth trends and development plans

• Analysis of vessel effects
• Evaluate maximum waterway capacity
• Recommend maximum capacity of the FLC
• Provide management alternatives
• Evaluate the potential effect of management options

Literature Review

• Review of relevant literature and interviews

with numerous individuals (USACE, USCG, commercial shipping, FL Sea Grant, university professors) revealed no accepted methodology to develop the waterway capacity in a setting and with management goals similar to the FLC.

• Literature review reveals that capacity

depends on site-specific management goals and depends on the user group.

Existing Conditions; Navigation

• Factors That Cause Navigation Problems and Affect Boating

Experience from Local Resident Questionnaires (84 responses)

Factors that lead to navigation and safety problems Factors that adversely affect your boating experience Speeding 14% 18% Boat wakes 28% 25% Uneducated Boaters 26% 19% Traffic 9% 8% Jet Skis 11% 5% Erosion 0% 9% Commercial Vessels 3% 0% Noise

0%

7% Other 7% 8% None 1% 2% When traveling on the FLC:

Existing Conditions; Navigation

• WCS Traffic Study (July 1st and 2nd, 2006)
• Selected holiday weekend to determine existing

near-maximum FLC traffic conditions

• Two observers (Highway 59, Foley Beach Exp) from

0700 (7AM) to 1900 (7PM)

• Recorded the time, vessel travel direction into the

field of view, registration, make of vessel, type of vessel, speed, number of people aboard, and travel direction out of the field of view

Existing Conditions; Navigation

• Commercial Traffic Data
• USACE Institute of Water Resources (IWR) data for

the Mobile Bay to Pensacola segment of the GIWW

• Data indicates coal represents the primary

commodity shipped

• Data (with commercial operator interviews)

indicates a commercial vessel passes through the FLC approximately every 2 hours with approximately 2.5 barges per tug

Existing Conditions; Navigation

• Commercial Operator Interviews
• Contacted 12 commercial transport companies to

gather information on commercial shipping practices in the FLC

• Interview executives
• Interview commercial pilots

– Avg > 12 yrs experience in FLC

Ingram Barge Line Kirby Corporation Cenac Towing Company Florida Marine Transporters Martin Gas Marine American Commercial Barge Line Higman Barge Lines Blessey Marine Services Parker Towing Company Cooper T Smith TennTom Towing (Midstream) Warrier & Gulf Navigation Company

Existing Conditions; Navigation

• Existing Conditions that Cause Navigation Problems in the FLC based
• n 19 Commercial Operator Interviews.

When traveling on the FLC: Factors that lead to navigation and safety problems Responses Percentage Speeding 12 12% Boat Wakes 10 10% Uneducated Boaters 16 16% Traffic 16 16% Jet Skis 11 11% Underway Commercial Vessels 2 2% Moored Commercial Vessels 9 9% Currents 8 8% Lighting 4 4% Other 10 10%

Existing Conditions; Navigation

• Marina Operations Data Collection
• Contact 27 marinas to discuss their operations

– AL Gulf Coast (10) – Destin, FL (6) – Palm Beach County, FL (11)

• 18 Public Marinas and 9 Private Marinas

Existing Conditions; Navigation

• Marina Operations Data Collection

Questionnaire Response Data for the 27 Public and Private Marinas

PUBLIC & PRIVATE MARINAS Public Private Both Number of marinas that responded 18 9 27 Average number of wet slips 55 84 65 Percentage with any dry slips 56% 22% 44% Percentage with any transient slips 67% 56% 63% Average vessel length (ft) 39 50 43 Percentage with a boat ramp 17% 11% 15% Average occupied wet slips in the week 12% 11% 12% Average occupied wet slips on the weekend 21% 25% 22% Average occupied wet slips on a holiday 35% 31% 33% Average occupied dry slips in the week 15% 15% 15% Average occupied dry slips on the weekend 29% 48% 32% Average occupied dry slips on a holiday 40% 40% 40% Percentage day trips to overnight trips 85% 81% 84% Percentage with a fuel dock 94% 44% 78%

Hypothetical Maximum Capacity

• The WCS develops hypothetical maximum

capacity to provide a basis for the recommended capacity

• Hypothetical maximum capacity in the FLC and

requires vessels to operate at average speeds for commercial vessels (5.5 MPH)

• Vessel spacing equals twice the vessel length
• Hypothetical maximum capacity equals 1,296

vessels on the FLC at one time

Reductions in Carrying Capacity

• Data collection program indicated seven areas that warrant a

reduction factor:

– Commercial vessel presence – Uneducated boaters – Non-local operators – Waterway access locations – Excessive vessel speed – Traffic levels – Personal watercraft (jet-skis)

• Each reduction factor developed with consideration of other

reduction factors

Reductions in Carrying Capacity

• The WCS relies on the data collection phase of the study,

review of overland transportation practices (such as the Highway Capacity Manual), capacity studies for large waterway bodies, and engineering judgment.

• The reduction factors considered the entire body of information

available and objectively assigned a reduction in waterway capacity due to that navigation concern

– Consideration of a specific reduction factor magnitude must include other reduction factors for that criterion. – The resulting waterway capacity that develops must provide a reasonable traffic condition based on results of the data collection program

Waterway Capacity with 16 proposed marinas

• Waterway capacity with construction of 16 proposed marinas

equals 191 vessels at one time

Table 9.1 Calculation of Recommended Capacity — Construction of 16 Proposed Marinas

Navigation Concern Reduction Factor Commercial Vessels 0.125 Uneducated Boaters 0.150 Non-local Operators 0.100 Waterway Access Locations 0.178 Excessive Vessel Speed 0.125 Traffic Levels 0.125 Personal Watercraft 0.050 Sum of Factors 0.853 Waterway Capacity Considerations Vessels at one time on the FLC Hypothetical Maximum Capacity from Chapter 6 1,296 Recommended Capacity for Commercial Navigation Concerns 191

Waterway Capacity with 16 proposed marinas

• Evaluate the number of boat storage units available to future

development that allows traffic levels below the recommended waterway capacity.

• Must evaluate the proposed number of dry and wet storage

units for the 16 proposed marinas

• Apply a 35% usage factor for both wet and dry storage units on

a summer holiday weekend (based on marina operations data)

• Apply 12% peak time factor for vessels on the waterway at

peak conditions during the day based on July 2006 conditions

• Apply 2010 as year of initial marina operations and 2015 as first

year at full operations (linear increase in boat storage units from 2010 to 2015)

Waterway Capacity with 16 proposed marinas

Vessel Traffic Conditions in the FLC and Available Boat Storage Units

Vessels on the FLC on a Summer Holiday Weekend in Selected Years (per day) Source of vessels 2010 2015 2020 2025 Projected conditions from existing use data (Table 4.6) 393 477 585 727 Vessels from recently permitted marinas (Table 4.9) 116 116 116 116 Total vessels per day 509 593 701 843 Total vessels from projected conditions from existing use and recently permitted development Vessels on the FLC on a Summer Holiday Weekend in Selected Years (peak time) Number of vessels at peak time based on 12% peak time factor 61 71 84 101 Recommended waterway capacity to maintain existing navigation conditions (Chapter 9) 191 191 191 191 Excess vessel capacity on the FLC prior to construction of the 16 proposed marinas 130 120 107 90 Number of additional boat storage units suggested in the FLC [wet and dry storage] 1) 35% usage rate for summer holiday 2) 12% peak time factor 3,093 2,853 2,545 2,139

Management Options

• Suggested management options include:

– Recreation Restrictions – Speed Restrictions – Dedicated Enforcement Presence – Dedicated Mooring Locations – Personal Watercraft Restrictions – Marina Entry/Exit Constraints – Vessel Operator Education Programs – Monitoring Program for Vessel Traffic Levels and Operations

• WCS contains analysis of potential effect of each

management option on waterway capacity

Management Options Potential Effects

Recreation Restrictions Speed Restrictions Dedicated Enforcement Presence Dedicated Mooring Locations Personal Watercraft Restrictions Marina Entry/Exit Constraints Operator Education Programs Monitoring Program Total Change Commercial Vessel Presence 0.005 0.0050 Uneducated Boaters 0.006 0.002 0.0075 0.0155 Non-local Operators 0.005 0.0025 0.0075 Waterway Access Locations 0.004 0.0040 Excessive Vessel Speed 0.008 0.004 0.0120 Traffic Levels Personal Watercraft 0.005 0.0050 Total Change 0.006 0.008 0.011 0.005 0.005 0.004 0.010 0.0490 Note Values provide an upper limit to the potential decrease in the reduction factors based on details provided in Section 10.2.

Potential Effect of Management Options on Waterway Capacity Reduction Factors

Management Options Potential Effects

Calculation of Recommended Capacity with Construction of 16 proposed Marinas and Implementation of Management Plan Options

Navigation Concern Reduction Factor (Chap. 9) Potential Decrease in Reduction Factor Updated Reduction Factor Commercial Vessels 0.125

0.0050

0.1200 Uneducated Boaters 0.150

0.0155

0.1345 Non-local Operators 0.100

0.0075

0.0925 Waterway Access Locations 0.178

0.0040

0.1740 Excessive Vessel Speed 0.125

0.0120

0.1130 Traffic Levels 0.125

• 0.1250

Personal Watercraft 0.050

0.0050

0.0450 Sum of Factors 0.853

0.0490

0.8040 Waterway Capacity Considerations Vessels at one time on the FLC Hypothetical Maximum Capacity (Chap. 6) 1,296 1,296 1,296 Recommended Capacity for Commercial Navigation Concerns 191

• 254

Management Options Potential Effects

Vessel Traffic Conditions in the FLC and Available Boat Storage Units with Implementation

• f Management

Options

Source of vessels Vessels on the FLC on a Summer Holiday Weekend in Selected Years (per day) 2010 2015 2020 2025 Projected conditions from existing use data (Table 4.6) 393 477 585 727 Vessels from recently permitted marinas (Table 4.9) 116 116 116 116 Total vessels per day 509 593 701 843 Total vessels from projected conditions from existing use and recently permitted development Vessels on the FLC on a Summer Holiday Weekend in Selected Years (peak time) Number of vessels at peak time based on 12% peak time factor 61 71 84 101 Recommended waterway capacity to maintain existing navigation conditions (Chapter 10) 254 254 254 254 Excess vessel capacity on the FLC prior to construction

• f the 16 proposed marinas

193 183 170 153 Number of additional boat storage units suggested in the FLC [wet and dry storage] 1) 35% usage rate for summer holiday 2) 12% peak time factor 4,593 4,353 4,045 3,639

Conclusions

• Literature review provided no proven methods to

establish the waterway capacity for management goals for, and in a setting similar to, the FLC

• Data collection program developed a thorough

understanding of existing navigation conditions, appropriate values with which to project conditions, and estimates of proposed development effects

• Methodology develops a hypothetical maximum

capacity and reduces that capacity based on reduction factors that account for existing navigation conditions and concerns

Conclusions

• Management options listed in the WCS provide

mitigative measures to increase waterway capacity

• The WCS presents the potential change in the

waterway capacity that management options could cause.

• With rigorous implementation of all management
• ptions the waterway capacity could increase to

254 vessels on the FLC at one time.

• With rigorous implementation of all management
• ptions presented and based on the data collected

in the WCS, the number of additional boat storage units (wet and dry storage) available to future development equals 3,639 in 2025.

Conclusions

• The WCS applies the best data available at

this time, and these data provide the basis for the conclusions reached

• Future changes throughout the area would

warrant review and adjustment of the data applied

• A waterway monitoring program provides a

means to generate data necessary to update future conditions

Thank you for your time

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