Design of Cazenovia Creek Ice Control Structure

Abstract

Cazenovia Creek, in Western New York, is the largest tributary of the Buffalo River. Breakup-ice jams form nearly every year, and ice-jam flooding occurs in Buffalo and West Seneca every 2–3 years. A proposed ice-control structure consisted of a weir with ice-retaining piers, an excavated pool, and a prepared floodway. The structure performed well during model tests, but it was not built due to cost-sharing problems. This paper describes model tests and design recommendations for a new ice-control structure for Cazenovia Creek. It consists of nine, 3-m tall × 1.5-m diameter cylindrical piers that are spaced across the main channel at the same site. It does not require a weir or excavated pool, and it uses the adjoining tree floodplain as a bypass channel. Consequently, the cost should be much less than the original structure. The new structure should retain ice, at least as well as the original one, and should substantially reduce ice-jam flood damages downstream. Design loads, based on model measurements, agree well with design guidance for bridge piers and are conservative, relative to measured loads on bridge piers.