An Ecological Engineering Approach to Shoreline Stabilization in Kleberg County, Texas
Faculty and students of the Environmental Engineering Department at Texas A&M University-Kingsville and the South Texas Environmental Institute (STEI) have designed and constructed a natural approach to help mitigate coastal erosion through the use of native materials to preserve the shoreline at Loyola Beach in Kleberg County, Texas.
Project partners included Kleberg County Parks and Recreation Department, the Coastal Bend Bays and Estuaries Program, the USDA Kika de la Garza Plant Materials Center, and the Apache Company.
Materials used for construction included native soils, geotextiles for soil retention, natural fiber mats for initial slope stabilization, and smooth cordgrass and other native plant coastal species on one foot spacing.
TAMUK graduate students are continuing to monitor the site for shoreline stabilization and soil shear strength improvements over time as the vegetation matures.
The project was completed at with expenditures of less than 20% of what a concrete seawall would have cost and has preserved the coastal ecosystem. A second phase expansion of the project to the west will be completed in 2006.
Project PI: Dr. Kim Jones, STEI
Project Co-PI: John Lloyd-Reilley, USDA PMC
Project partners: Kleberg County, Texas, Apache Landscaping Co.
Project Sponsor: Coastal Bend Bays and Estuaries Program
Funding Level: $60,000