scholarly journals Field Jet Erosion Tests on Benbrook Dam, Texas

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Johannes Wibowo ◽  
Jamie López-Soto

This report summarizes the results of eight field Jet Erosion Tests (JETs) performed on Benbrook Dam, TX. The results from these tests will be used by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Fort Worth District, in assessments of the erosion resistance of the Benbrook Dam with regards to possible overtopping by extreme flooding. The JETs were performed at four different locations, i.e., two locations at the lowest crest elevation and two locations at the mid-slope face of the downstream embankment. Variations in estimated critical hydraulic shear stress and erosion rate values may have been caused by differences in soil composition, i.e., when the material changed from silt/sand to clay. The resulting values of the Erodibility Coefficient, Kd, and Critical Stress, τc, are very useful information in assessing the stability of Benbrook Dam during an overtopping event. Because of the observed natural variability of the materials, combining the erosion parameters presented in this report with the drilling logs and local geology will be imperative for assessing erosion-related failure modes of Benbrook Dam.

Author(s):  
Timothy K. Perttula

A number of years ago, Perttula documented a variety of funerary objects through a Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) grant awarded to the Caddo Nation of Oklahoma. These were from ancestral Caddo sites on U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Fort Worth District lands in East Texas, including funerary objects from the Knight’s Bluff and Sherwin sites at Lake Wright Patman in the Sulphur River basin. These NAGPRA materials are held at the Texas Archeological Research Laboratory at The University of Texas at Austin (TARL). At that time, only a few ceramic vessel funerary objects were made available for NAGPRA documentation purposes, including only three ceramic vessels from Burial 4 at the Knight’s Bluff site, and six vessels from Burials 4 and 6 at the Sherwin site. The remainder of the ceramic vessel funerary objects from these two sites (n=16 vessels from Knight’s Bluff and n=13 vessels from the Sherwin site), plus one vessel from general Lake Wright Patman contexts, either from Knight’s Bluff or the Sherwin site, have recently been documented, and they are discussed in the remainder of this article.


The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Fort Worth District, is investigating the water resource problems, needs, and opportunities within the Big Fossil Creek drainage in Tarrant County, Texas. The effort focuses on describing existing conditions and identifying measures to minimize and control flood loss within a 48,396.8-acre area of the drainage north of the city of Fort Worth. Geo-Marine, Inc., of Plano, Texas, was contracted by the USACE to assess the potential for historic properties within the drainage area. Background research and a pedestrian reconnaissance survey of the project area were carried out and a geographical information systems (GIS) model was designed to evaluate the probability for both surface and subsurface cultural resources deposits within the project area and to make recommendations for further treatment of any properties.


Between 19 October and 11 November 2015, SEARCH conducted National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) eligibility determinations at previously recorded archaeological sites at Wright Patman Lake in Bowie and Cass Counties, Texas. This project was conducted under Contract W912HY‐11‐D‐0002, Task Order 0006 between the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Fort Worth District, and SEARCH.


Personnel from Prewitt and Associates, Inc., conducted archeological site assessments and survey at Aquilla Lake from November to December 2010 in preparation for a pool raise planned by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Fort Worth District. The proposed pool raise could potentially raise the conservation pool level of the lake by 6.5 ft. Field investigations revisited and reevaluated 41 previously recorded sites and surveyed 10 previously unsurveyed areas (180 total acres) within the confines of the proposed 6.5-ft conservation pool raise. The investigations consolidated 8 of the 41 previously recorded sites into 3, therefore reassessments are given for 36 sites. In addition, 3 new sites were recorded within the 10 previously unsurveyed areas. Of the 39 sites assessed in this report, 5 (41HI74/114, 41HI128, 41HI134, 41HI146, and 41HI169) are recommended as being potentially eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places (under Criterion D) pending additional investigations. Of these 5 sites, only 41HI74/114, 41HI134, and 41HI146 will be adversely impacted by the 6.5-ft pool raise and therefore warrant additional investigations.


Author(s):  
Julian Sitters ◽  
Timothy Perttula

ln December 2017, AmaTerra Environmental lnc. conducted an intensive archeological survey of 41CS125, a previously reported ancestral Caddo site at Lake Wright Patman in Cass County, Texas. The work was done at the request of the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers, Fort Worth District in advance of a proposed bank stabilization pro}ect. The site was occupied from the Late Paleoindian period through historic times with extensive occupations during the Formative to Early Caddo and Late Caddo periods. Artifacts recovered in the investigations included both arrow and dart points, lithic debitage, bifaces, ground stone, a celt fragment, pitted stone, ceramic sherds, a ceramic bead, charred organic material, unidentified bone fragments, and 19th century historic domestic materials. While the site has been adversely affected through alluvial erosion and looting, survey results indicate that intact components of the site still exist along the northern and western periphery of the landform.


From October 2000 to February 2001, personnel from Prewitt and Associates, Inc., conducted National Register of Historic Places eligibility testing of nine sites located at Waco Lake in McLennan County, Texas. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Fort Worth District, sponsored the project as a result of the proposed plan to raise the conservation pool level of the lake by 7 ft to 462 ft above mean sea level. Waco Lake is located in central McLennan County, Texas, on the west side of the City of Waco (Figure 1). It is on the Bosque River, with the dam lying ca. 6.6 km upstream from where the Bosque flows into the Brazos River. Two arms extend west and south from the main body of the lake following the North Bosque and South Bosque Rivers. Two major tributaries, Hog Creek and the Middle Bosque River, enter the southern arm from the west. No major streams feed the lake from the east. The original dam was completed in 1929, and at an elevation of 430 ft, the lake covered ca. 2,700 acres. In 1965, a new dam was finished and the level raised to 455 ft, with the new conservation pool covering ca. 7,300 acres.


The investigations conducted along Big Cypress Bayou were undertaken as part of a project by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to develop a fish and wildlife habitat restoration area. This project will benefit and is supported by the City of Jefferson and the Cypress Valley Alliance in helping to educate the public on the merits of environmental and historical preservation. The authors wish to thank several individuals for the completion of this report. First and foremost, our deepest thanks go to Mr. Duke De Ware whose love of the history and vision for the future of Jefferson is paramount. The use of facilities, equipment, and personnel from the Cypress Valley Alliance, and the tireless efforts of Elijah Dusek was beyond what we could have asked-thank you for everything. The ever present support, direction, and patience from Dr. Jay R. Newman of the Planning Division, U.S . Army Corps of Engineers, Fort Worth District is also greatly appreciated.


This report presents the results of one day of archeological monitoring and visual inspection during repairs to a levee located in northwestern Navarro County, Texas. These repairs, which required draining standing water, raking and grading wet areas, and opening borrow areas as the source for filler clay soils for the levee, were conducted over a segment of levee 1.3 kilometers (0.8 miles) long. Disturbed areas were estimated at 1.09 hectares (2.69 acres). Two phases of investigations were conducted during the repairs: the first was to monitor ongoing repairs, and the second was to inspect areas of prior disturbance. These investigations, conducted for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Fort Worth District, were designed to evaluate the impact to historic properties. Archeological monitoring and visual inspection failed to identify any cultural materials or deposits. Geo-Marine, Inc., does not recommend any further cultural resources investigations at this location.


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