7 Conclusions and 

 Recommendations 



The existing location of USCG Station, Port Huron, is strategically located to 

 provide search and rescue operations for boaters on lower Lake Huron. An 

 alternative mooring location on the Black River, a tributary of the St. Clair River, 

 increases rescue response times by as much as 20 to 30 min. However, at this 

 existing location, the boat basin is subjected to a dynamic hydraulic flow regime 

 because of the proximity of the entrance to the St. Clair River. Shoaling problems 

 have plagued this site since construction of the boat basin in 1932. Previous 

 studies conducted by the CEU Cleveland and USCG Academy have proposed 

 numerous alternatives to address the shoaling problem including open moorings, 

 offshore breakwaters, and relocating the station. USCG Academy (1974) even 

 stated, 



"There appears no easy solution from a scientific/engineering 

 standpoint. The situation that exists does not appear solvable 

 by any known method of boat basin configuration. Any 

 alteration of the southern end of the north-south breakwater 

 could cause the creation of eddies and vortex shedding that 

 does not now exist." 



USCG Academy (1974) appears to have well predicted the current state, as 

 numerous eddies and vortex shedding can now be observed at the site in the 

 vicinity of the basin opening. The flow separation is particularly problematic at 

 this location because it encourages sedimentation and transport of finer grained 

 sediments into the boat basin. 



The present study, however, does not hold to the belief that modifying the 

 boat basin configuration will not ease the shoaling problem. The physical model 

 tests conducted for this study indicate that an extension and shift of the east 

 breakwall lakeward will keep longshore-sediment transport on a deeper slope 

 away from the boat basin and closer to the stronger currents further from shore. 

 Tracer studies in the physical model showed a marked reduction in deposited 

 tracer inside the boat basin with the extended and shifted breakwall over the 

 existing configuration. In addition, the extended and shifted breakwall reduces 

 wave energy inside the basin by limiting its entrance into the basin. 



Chapter 7 Conclusions and Recommendations 61 



