The Development and Rehabilitation of the Hammamlif Coastline: A Geotechnical Study

Abstract

The coastline of Hammamlif is an area characterized by a flooding problem due to the heavy rain and the wave run up phenomenon. This flooding phenomenon is made worse by both an intense urbanization and the badly designed unitary-type sewerage networks which drain rain water and waste water at the same time. These networks, now silted and overburdened, are not able to carry off water. Hammamlif wave is characterized by a run up in the order of 2.50 m (Doctoral thesis, Abir Baklouti). This value causes a major problem for the low zone of the area. The suggested solutions according to our study are to strengthen the drainage networks and even the construction of a new water purification station and the removal of the existing breakwaters because they are badly designed. Instead, we should apply an artificialy recharged beach and the solution of a submerged geotextile artificial reef to fight against wave action in the area. Applying these major solutions requires a geotechnical study of the Hammamlif area which is the subject matter of this paper. This article aims to present the geotechnical study of the site to come out with specific recommendations on the reserved land to be used as support for future studies and provide various foundation designs for different structures planned in the Hammamlif area.