Water Resources: Hydraulics and Hydrology
With regard to the systems of pile dikes, we wanted the sediment to be deposited in the dike
systems. In the early '6O's, Dow Chemical had a flocculent that they were convinced would
cause fine sediments to collect infloes and deposit. This goes back to something that didn't
work, I guess. We tried it. Dow provided the material. Our field crew did it. We surveyed
the site before and after applying the flocculent to see if it increased the rate at which
deposition occurred in the dike fields. It really was not effective.
So that was an idea that you tried, and it just didn't work?
Yes.
Are there any structures that you tried to use that were less than effective?
A:
Pile dikes deteriorate with age, and they usually end up being essentially stone fill structures,
eventually. It's cheaper to wait for some deposition in the dike fields and then add stone on
top of that fill than it is to build a stone fill structure, initially. So most of what started out
as pile dikes are stone fill dikes. This is true on the Missouri, too, I think.
So how long would it take for them to fill to a certain point where you could then put the
stone on?
It varies depending on the particular site on the river and with the sequence of flows. Twenty
A:
to thirty years, probably, in general.
So, eventually, those piles will all rot away, and you'll basically have a stone dike.
A:
Yes.
And they're going to stay in place usually, right?
Yes, until a flood moves them.
A big flood. So you stayed in Little Rock until, in that first job until
`60.
A:
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