Creative Engineering:

Flooding Solution
Solving a massive problem submerging our world

By Isabella Madison, Lara Fleischhauer, Lara

Glendening, and Zack Griggy

Our Problem:

Flooding

Levee erosion

Levee breaches

What causes floods?

Heavy rainfall
Weather conditions
prior to rainfall
Topography

Why is It essential to prevent floods?

Huge financial consequences.

Billions of dollars of damage
Destruction of homes

 Overbank Flooding

Flash Floods

Types of floods

Ice Jam Flooding

Coastal FLooding

Floods Caused by
Man/Engineering
Failure:

Construction of coastal settlements

Levee breaches / leaks

Levee failure

Solutions We Brainstormed:

Double levee

Buoyant levee

Sponge covering

Grass armoring

Our Solution :
Native grass for protecting levee walls

Why Native grass?

Benefits:
Extra Flood Prevention
Minimises erosion
Wont take over flood plains or die
Native species are noninvasive
Easy to get

Concerns:
Time it takes for grass to grow
Certain species of grass can only live
in certain climates

Californias solution:
Creeping RyeGrass

Testing Part 1: Overtopping Erosion (Flash Flood Breach):

-Tested three samples- one dirt and two with grass

-Dirt eroded without any resistance.
-Grass kept shape, after being subjected to rapid erosion

Dirt Erosion- in Action!

Wild Native Grass Testing

Levee Grass Sample

Testing Part 2: Tide and Wave Simulation:

COST:
Seeds:$6,500
Labor:$3,500
Total Cost: $10,000

*costs are projected and may vary

Conclusion

Important to prevent floods

Numerous causes and consequences
Levee system prone to breaches
Grass armoring noninvasive and relatively inexpensive

We decided to use grasses native to each region to armor levees. Our solution for California was
creeping wild ryegrass.