Geotextile Tube Structures for Wetlands Restoration and Protection

BACKGROUND: In the early 1990s, some U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Districts began using and evaluating custom-made geotextile tubes with fabric tensile strengths ranging between 400 and 1,000 lb/in. (70,000-175,000 N/m). The tubes have been used as containment dikes for dredged material placed in shallow water to intertidal elevations. Wetlands have been restored on the dredged material with the tubes acting as erosion protection. The tubes have also been used as nearshore, low-crested breakwaters to limit erosion. Individual tubes have ranged between 20 and 45 ft (6-14 m) in circumference and between 200 and 2,000 ft (61-610 m) in length. During the planning of these projects, many questions have been asked regarding the best techniques for designing, deploying, filling, and handling the tubes.