Project: International Projects
Client: Hopkins Harbor Ltd – Hopkins Village
Key Design Problems Addressed:
- Tide and flow measurements, determination of local mean sea level
- Evaluation of alternative improvements
- Topographic data collection
- Digital terrain modeling
- Technical feasibility studies and preliminary engineering
Hopkins Bay Resort is a 20-hectare spit bounded by the Caribbean Sea, Freshwater Creek, and an extensive mangrove swamp near the community of Hopkins, Belize. The resort includes a narrow, 600-meter-long sand beach and extensive interior wetlands. The project involved planning and design of an expanded beach, ocean pier and breakwater, improved upland drainage, a navigation channel and stabilized inlet into Freshwater Creek, and a marina for up to 20-meter yachts.
CSE mobilized to the project site and conducted extensive field measurements over a one-week period, including site condition survey, topographic mapping, as well as beach and inshore profiling via RTK-GPS. Tides were recorded and a mean sea level vertical datum was recommended for control. Tidal prism and discharge measurements were made at the mouth of Freshwater Lagoon for purposes of defining equilibrium inlet cross-sections for the site. CSE used the data to analyze alternative improvements and amenities for the resort, which would be compatible with existing natural resources and sensitive to the environment. Recommended improvements included an open-coast loading pier, entrance jetties, dredging and shoreline stabilization for a small-craft marina (into high land), and maintenance of fringing mangroves along the river. The CSE topographic map of the project allowed on-site managers to identify drainage problems and implement improvements prior to construction of amenities.
Hopkins Bay, Belize. Click to enlarge.
Site topography and bathymetry prepared using CSE field data. Click to enlarge.
Site plan showing feasible amenities and improvements recommended by the design team. Click to enlarge.
