Olcott Harbor, New York, Design for Harbor Improvements: Coastal Model Investigation

Abstract : A 1:60-scale (undistorted) hydraulic model of Olcott Harbor, New York, was used to investigate wave, current, creek flow conditions, and sediment patterns for the existing harbor configuration and various improvement plans. The model reproduced approximately 3,300 and 3,600 ft of the New York shoreline on the east and west sides of the harbor, respectively, about 3,000 ft of the lower reaches of Eighteenmile Creek, and sufficient offshore bathymetry in Lake Ontario to permit generation of the required test waves. Proposed improvements consisted of the installation of rubble-mound breakwaters and channel dredging. An 80-ft-long unidirectional, spectral wave generator, an automated data acquisition and control system, and a crushed coal tracer material were utilized in model operation. (jg)