Under contract to the U.S. Army Engineer Waterways Experiment Station, Coastal Hydraulics Laboratory, Taylor Engineering developed the Diagnostic Modeling System (DMS), a suite of programs intended to assist engineers responsible for the planning, design, and maintenance of navigation projects. The DMS provides a rapid, inexpensive, and reliable method to develop and evaluate navigation channel operations and maintenance alternatives based on limited information of the hydrodynamic and sediment conditions at major shoaling areas along the NE Cape Fear River.

The DMS also provides shoreline erosion evaluation and inlet management capabilities. The DMS consists of three primary components: the DMS Manual; the DMS Data Manager; and the DMS Analytical Toolbox. The DMS Manual is a web-based document showing real-life examples of shoaling problems. The DMS Data Manager includes a GIS-based toolset to catalog and analyze relevant navigation related data. The DMS Analytical Toolbox includes a wide range of numerical modeling techniques to assess conditions within a navigation project.

Taylor Engineering has applied DMS concepts to a number of projects throughout the Southeastern U.S. including East Pass near the City of Destin in the Florida Panhandle; the St. Mary's River Entrance, Jacksonville Harbor, Ft. George Inlet, and South Amelia Island in Northeast Florida; and the NE Cape Fear River, Wilmington Harbor, and Morehead City Harbor in North Carolina. The Jacksonville Harbor application includes detailed AdCIRC modeling, compilation of a decade of bathymetric surveys, and a report with recommendations regarding maintenance of flow training structures, future maintenance dredging, and impacts to adjacent water bodies. During the Cape Fear River application, Taylor Engineering evaluated several turning basin options and identified a preferred configuration based on anticipated maintenance requirements considering both historical shoaling patterns and projected flow characteristics. This project led to additional work around Morehead City and Wilmington Harbors where we are compiled several hundred bathymetric data sets in an easy to use database.