No Name Bayou Water Bottom Assessment

In June of 2022, ENCOS was contracted by the Office of Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority of Louisiana (CPRA) with Freese and Nichols, Inc. to conduct a water bottom assessment located in public oyster seed grounds in Calcasieu Lake. The project consisted of surveying an approximately 1,573-acre study area within Calcasieu Lake in preparation for the No Name Bayou Marsh Creation Project. The study area included areas within 1,500 feet of the proposed borrow area and mechanical dredge pipelines associated with the No Name Bayou Marsh Creation Project. The goals of this project are to create and nourish back-marsh south of Calcasieu Lake using material dredged from within the lake. 
The ENCOS team was responsible for completing a water-bottom assessment that consisted of poling the bottom of the survey area every 5-10 seconds to determine bottom type and get an accurate depiction of probable oyster locations. ENCOS simultaneously operated a SonTek M9 RiverSurveyor to collect bathymetric data. After poling, ENCOS used an oyster dredge to verify the presence/absence of oysters where poling results indicated the presence of shell. Three oyster samples, with three replicates each, were then collected via diving where poling indicated shell was present. ENCOS recorded water quality at each dive location as well as the number and size of live and dead oysters and any other organisms present.