Figure 1 . Location map 



The Problem 



As part of the Saugus River and Tributaries Flood Damage Reduction 

 Project, a flood control plan includes construction of a tidal floodgate 

 across the mouth of the Saugus River, and new walls, dikes, revetments, 

 and dunes along the shorefronts of Revere and Lynn. Also, land is being 

 purchased along the Saugus and Pines Rivers to provide a holding area for 

 any floodwater that may overtop the beach and seawall as well as retain- 

 ing rainfall runoff during floodgate closure. The problem was to deter- 

 mine the amount of overtopping expected, to assist NED in determining 

 the quantity of land to be purchased. Wave hindcast studies were con- 

 ducted by the Research Division of the U.S. Army Engineer Waterways 

 Experiment Station's Coastal Engineering Research Center (CERC) to de- 

 termine major storm conditions at offshore locations in the area, and nu- 

 merical models were used to propagate storm waves shoreward to the 

 beach. The numerical models could not adequately predict overtopping 

 along the beach, and CERC's Wave Dynamics Division was requested to 

 determine the overtopping rates through physical model studies, using 

 wave and water level data supplied by the numerical models. Information 

 on the physical model studies is contained in this report. For information 

 on the numerical model studies, see Smith et al. (1994). 



Chapter 1 Introduction 



