Putting the river to work rebuilding coastal Louisiana

The project is located in Plaquemines Parish, La., and is the largest wetlands restoration effort of its kind in the world. Dating back to the 1950's, a number of storm events, natural land subsidence and the lack of sediment and freshwater flowing into the bay led to the disappearance of wetlands, creating an area of mostly open, shallow water.

The project's primary purpose is to rebuild marsh. The dredge California began digging the interim West Bay channel in late September 2003 and completed in November 2003. If the interim channel works as expected, a larger channel would be dug after results are assessed. The interim channel project involved the removal of a foreshore rock dike along the river bank, construction of the channel and dredging the adjacent Pilottown anchorage to insure that the project does not interfere with navigation.

The West Bay Sediment Diversion Project is a partnership of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources. The 85 percent federal share is funded by the Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection and Restoration Act.