BCI Engineers and Scientists

BCI conducted a feasibility and alternatives analysis to restore hydrologically altered wetlands on a 12-square-mile portion of the Green Swamp between Gator Creek and the Withlacoochee River. Used as former ranchland, the property has been drained by a series of ditches since the late 1940s or early 1950s to move water off the land surface more quickly in order to enlarge the amount of grazable or tillable land.

BCI was selected by CF Industries to perform comprehensive tailings disposal planning, reclamation design, and permitting services related to a 6,500 acre reserve expansion of their existing 15,000 acre phosphate mining project in Hardee County, Florida. The project involved a comprehensive redesign of the facility’s long range tailings disposal plan and evaluation of their existing dredging, consolidation, and tailings storage capacity. A key aspect of this project involved the integration of existing habitat reclamation requirements and site hydrology restoration goals with the facility’s operational and tailings storage and disposal requirements.

BCI was retained by Pinellas County Public Works to provide support services in the design and construction of erosion control features on Curlew Creek Channel “A.” Services were initiated with a complete review and recommendations of geomorphological improvements to the creek banks through characterization of erosion problems, sediment transport capacity, and overall system stability.

BCI staff members provided a comprehensive ecosystem restoration plan for a 15,000 acre surface mine and are continuing to provide support and site-specific assistance to the client as the project unfolds. BCI work included plans and specifications for hydrology, soils, geomorphology, floral communities, potential for fire-management, and wildlife corridors.

BCI was selected by the Southwest Florida Water Management District (SWFWMD) to evaluate and design low-flow protection devices to help restore perennial flow to the upper Peace River. This part of the river completely dries out, sometime for weeks at a time, from artificial flow losses through karst openings induced by regional groundwater withdrawals.

BCI staff members are working to improve understanding of the fluvial geomorphology and riparian habitats of low and mid-order freshwater streams of peninsular Florida from Putnam County to Highlands County. To date, BCI has developed a new stream corridor classification system that facilitates the restoration or creation of natural streams that are properly fit to their watershed and valley conditions.

This project incorporates an alternative mitigation strategy for wetlands impacted during construction of the Polk Parkway. Rather than replace impacted wetlands in a disjointed setting, BCI was contracted to replace the wetlands in extensive, adjacent habitats managed for long-term viability and protection.

BCI was hired by CF Industries to develop and pilot-test a stream restoration construction approach utilizing an innovative hydraulic carving method. This approach requires fewer design parameters than conventional methods, thereby simplifying design and reducing the potential for errors. It harnesses forces that normally take decades to form natural channels on their own and accelerates them to occur over a matter of weeks.

BCI was hired by the Lake County Water Authority to perform engineering services on Lake Beauclair, Lake Griffin, and the Clermont and Harris chain of lakes. In the Lake Beauclair project, BCI enhanced the navigability, habitat, and water quality of the 1,100-acre Lake Beauclair by 1) removal of over 1.2 million cubic yards of organic sediment, 2) a partial-lake pump-down, and 3) installation of aquatic vegetation.

This project enhanced the navigability, habitat, and water quality of the 1,100-acre Lake Beauclair by removal of over 1.2 million cubic yards of organic sediment, a partial lake pump-down, and installation of aquatic vegetation. BCI Engineers & Scientists, Inc. provided a preliminary design report for the project. This entailed assessing the water and sediment quality for nutrients, pesticides, metals, and geotechnical/agronomic characteristics to determine the beneficial uses of the dredged material.

Conducted detailed residential flood Impact evaluation of upper Kissimmee River Chain of Lakes as a result of change in regulation schedule required to support Kissimmee River Restoration and developed ARC info GIS database to locate, characterize, and dimension thousands of residential dwellings, roads, septic tanks, docks, drainage systems, and other improvements.

The Southwest Florida Water Management District selected BCI to assist with the assessment, design, and construction supervision of hydrological restoration of District-owned lands.

BCI was retained by E.R. Jahna to develop a new 15,000-acre sand mine in the Green Swamp. The Green Swamp is an area of critical environmental concern. The development of the new mine required comprehensive environmental assessments as well as significant wetland assessment. To begin the project, BCI developed detailed, thematic GIS coverage to determine the amount of hydrologic, environmental and mine/reclamation planning needed. In addition, comprehensive geotechnical evaluations were conducted to establish the extent and characterization of the resources available.

Alligator Creek is actually a 40-foot wide, 15-foot deep canal cut through the City of Starke and outlying areas through a former stream and floodplain system that discharges to Lake Rowell. The District retained BCI's services to help restore this system to a more naturally functional stream and to stabilize its failing banks.

Lake Morton is a 40-acre water body, forming one of the City of Lakeland's cultural and recreational showpieces. It is located in the City's Historic District, annually hosts one of the state's best art shows (Mayfaire), and has a large population of easily approachable native and exotic waterfowl which attract many people to the lake. The birds include a population of elegant mute swans, the City's popular symbol. These large birds had overgrazed the edge of the shoreline causing it to steadily erode with an average of 15 feet of land lost around the lakeshore. BCI designed, permitted, and supervised the rebuilding and stabilization of more than a mile of shoreline around the lake.