Modeling of sediment transport direction affecting Failaka island marina bathymetry, Kuwait

Abstract

Failaka Island has a marina, which was constructed in 1979 and managed by the Ministry of Communication (MOC) in collaboration with Touristic Enterprises Company (TEC). The marina is widely used for its ferry landing facility. The coastal waters around Failaka are turbid, and current velocities tend to be as high as ∼0.5 m/s during spring tide. The marina basin, with axial plane view and dimensions of about 285m by 260m, experiences shoaling of naturally flocculated fine (cohesive) sediment and coarse sand at the entrance of the channel and more generally in the southern half of the basin. Particularly noteworthy is its heavy shoaling zone along the inner side of the south breakwater close to the entrance. The Failaka island marina is suffering from siltation and sediment deposition issues. The study was carried out numerically to assess the annual sedimentation, sediment direction, and longshore current from different locations around the marina and recommend solutions to reduce the siltation and sediment deposition based on sediment transport direction at the marina entrance. The study shows that the sediment is mostly transported to the Failaka marina entrance from the southeast due to wave action. The cumulative sediment transport for the period 2016 to 2020 as depicted from locations 1 and 2, which are vulnerable to the southeast waves, is 9,164 m³ and 12,323 m³. The annual sediment transport direction affecting the marina is oriented from south to north due to wave action.