As part of a post-hurricane Katrina effort to improve storm surge and hurricane protection in South Louisiana, the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority and St. Mary Parish funded improvements for the Morgan City Levee. HydroTurf® was chosen over rock riprap to protect the levee due to its versatility, performance and durability.

The levee, situated beneath an overpass with a three-to-one slope, presented several challenges. Vegetation could not be established under the overpasses due to lack of sunlight, and height restrictions (exacerbated by recent levee improvements) limited access to the backside of the t-wall for maintenance and mowing vehicles. Thus, a hard armor alternative was required. HydroTurf provided the appearance of vegetation with the performance of hard armor and the added benefit of little to no required maintenance.

The project installed in 1.5 days and demonstrates the value of HydroTurf in this important application. HydroTurf eliminates or minimizes the challenges presented by levee improvements and is an ideal solution to the ongoing, long-term challenges that arise in areas that need storm surge protection.

The Morgan City Levee is in an area that is frequented by tropical storms with heavy rainfall and high wind gust speeds. Since it’s installation, there have been at least twelve significant storm events surrounding the area. These storms included peak values of 55.2 miles per hour wind gust speeds, 2.55 inches per hour hourly rainfall, and 6.52 inches in a 24 hour rainfall period. Throughout these named storms, the HydroTurf in the Morgan City Levee remained undamaged.