GEOWEB® Channel Protection System

Project Name: Village of Pinecrest Canal Embankment Stabilization

Project Location: Village of Pinecrest, FL

The Challenge: Canal Embankment Erosion

Even though its nickname is the “Sunshine State,” Florida’s tropical climate makes it susceptible to frequent extreme weather events. South Florida experiences storms and hurricanes that dump large amounts of water on areas over short periods, overburdening stormwater channels and causing flooding.

Such was the case in the Village of Pinecrest—a suburban village in Miami-Dade County. To mitigate the damage caused by weather events with heavy rainfall, the Village of Pinecrest launched annual efforts to address erosion challenges along canal embankments.

The Solution: The GEOWEB® Channel Protection System

The project owners chose to install the GEOWEB® Channel Protection System to repair the canal embankment and prevent future erosion. Specifically, the project called for the GEOWEB system to be installed as a multi-layered—or stacked—mixed-infill channel. The stacked GEOWEB system acts as a retaining wall to hold back the embankment soil and prevent erosion.

GEOWEB multi-layered channels can withstand higher flows for short durations, allowing naturally vegetated channels to be designed in place of hard armoring (gabions or concrete). The GEOWEB multi-layered channels tolerate reasonable differential settlement without loss of integrity, so they perform well in soft-soil environments. Backfill and infill materials can be sourced locally, and the system allows the use of smaller, less expensive rock in back cells and reinforced zone.

The Installation

In June 2017, the construction crew began installing the GEOWEB green-fascia wall system along the canal embankment. Crews installed 1,082.5 square feet of the 6-inch-deep GEOWEB system to create the vegetated multi-layer channel.

The interior cells of the GEOWEB system were infilled with a soil/aggregate mix, and the outside cells at transitions/terminations were filled with concrete. The top row was filled with engineered fill and sod to provide a vegetated solution.

Benefits of GEOWEB Multi-Layered Protection

• Green, tan, and black fascia panel options allow natural blending with the environment.
• Variety of infill options offer stability and protection of channels exposed to erosive conditions ranging from low-to-high flows, either intermittent or continuous.
• The system’s overall light weight allows it to tolerate reasonable differential settlement in soft soils while maintaining structural integrity.
• The system is 25-30% quicker and easier to install than MSE block wall systems.
• GEOWEB solutions reduce worker fatigue and increase worksite safety.

The Results

Since its installation in 2017, the GEOWEB system is performing as expected and has required no maintenance.