Friday, July 25, 2014

CSO Canoe & Kayak Launch Gets an Upgrade



                                (Geoweb panel before limestone is placed inside)

In early summer, the Country Squirrel Outfitters canoe/kayak lunch received a little love.  The existing launch wasn’t much more than an eroded dirt footpath to the Clarion River.  It had been this way for many years under the previous ownership and it was time for an upgrade. 

The first step was to obtain the necessary permits from the PA Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), which came in the form of a General Permit #2 for boat ramps and docks.  This authorization was obtained in the fall of 2013.  The next step was to determine the method that would be used to stabilize the launch area surface.  Due to the steepness of the embankment, simply adding stone to the launch would not work.  Through his work in the conservation field, Steve the CSO owner, had worked with a product called Geoweb.  Geoweb is a cellular confinement system that has many different uses.  Its primary uses include; slope stabilization, storm water management controls, and pervious parking areas.  Geoweb was chosen for the new canoe/kayak launch application.  A local Ridgway area contractor, Bill Kinkead Excavating, was chosen as the contractor to do the job.  Construction began with grading the old launch to provide a level surface to install the Geoweb.  The plan was to establish a walkway that was approximately 8 feet wide and 30 feet long.  Once the new walkway was established to grade, a layer of geotextile separation fabric was installed.  This material is used to create a separation barrier between the subsurface soils and the new materials that will be placed on top.  The Geoweb panel was then installed.  We chose to use a single panel with a rise of 4 inches.  The panel was stretched to approximately 7.5’x27.5’ in size.  The corners and edges of the Geoweb panel was staked in place until the void spaces could be filled with stone.   Once in place, the Geoweb panel was filled with 2A limestone.  Limestone was chose over sandstone because of its durability and the added alkalinity that limestone adds to the water, which is an added environmental benefit.  Once the canoe/kayak launch was completed, the small disturbed areas were seeded and covered with straw mulch to minimize the potential for erosion. 

The whole project took about a half of a day to complete.  The new launch has been in place for about 2 months now and it is holding up very well.  It is a huge improvement over the old launch area.  There were certainly cheaper and easier ways to establish a new canoe launch, but we wanted something that would last a long time and would also provide some added environmental benefits.  With the methods and techniques used on our new launch, we were able to meet several primary goals:
·         Reduce erosion and sedimentation that was occurring at the old launch
·         Provide a stable and firm surface that would provide better traction for the users, which results in a safety improvement.
·         Utilize an innovative technology that isn’t common in our area, which may serve as an educational tool or demonstration project.
·         Utilize limestone to provide much needed alkalinity to the Clarion River watershed   

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