San Diego Zoo Oryx Habitat Remediation

Abstract

The San Diego Zoo tasked Atlas Civil Design of San Diego, CA with creating a mitigation design for a remediation project for the Safari Park Oryx enclosure. Shannon Davis of Atlas Civil Design approached our senior design team (collectively referred to as WMW Engineering for this project) to provide design services for the project. The Oryx enclosure is currently experiencing high velocity water flows that have eroded much of their grasslands. To fix the Oryx habitat, water flowing into the enclosure should be diverted, habitat soil regraded, and vegetation rehabilitated to bring stability back to the soil. Water will be diverted by creating a concrete channel that conveys water around the habitat perimeter. The habitat’s steep hillside will be terraced to slow down water flow entering the habitat as well as vegetation replanted to restabilize the soils. Each step of the project will be discussed including design criteria and constraints, alternative designs, cost estimates, and technical analyses that culminate into the final design.