Services

CDE understands the risks that are involved when evaluating, planning and/or designing a property prior to land acquisition. Determining whether or not your development or project is financially and physically feasible is a crucial first step. In order to mitigate costly risks, CDE routinely provides due diligence studies to assess the feasibly of potential developments and sites by reviewing site conditions, conceptual layouts and designs, and environmental permitability offering our clients key information for decision making allowing our clients to be confident in their property investments.

Developing the land in the most efficient, sustainable, environmental conscious way practical is a common goal for any waterfront development project.  CDE can help guide you as your partner in the responsible development of the land through our site layout and land planning services which consider the financial, social, cultural and environmental impacts of the project with an emphasis on sustainability and resiliency.

Our waterfront resort development projects oftentimes include the development of Master Plan documents which entail collaborating closely with and managing some of the world’s premier architects and engineers as well as stakeholders located in disparate regions. The Master Plan brings together the resort’s vision, development agreements with government, infrastructure, utilities, architecture, coastal/marine, environmental, economic and social aspects of the development into a single governing Master Plan document. CDE has developed Master Plan documents for upscale, luxury waterfront resorts throughout the Caribbean. The Masterplans prepared provide sustainable development activities that are designed to improve the economy of the islands. These multi-volume documents are developed to focus on site planning, economic analysis, environmental impacts, and engineering design (Civil and Marine). Site civil engineering and land planning includes activities such as large scale cut/fill design and analysis, coordination of infrastructure and utilities, and the identification of design flood elevations for development to name a few.

CDE provides coastal vulnerability assessments and resiliency planning for existing and future waterfront developments. These services include infrastructure and facilities vulnerabilities to climate change and sea level rise, calculation of wave and flood load for development, identifying elevations of flood-prone buildings and infrastructures, and designing functional and constructible stormwater infrastructure improvements to reduce flooding and storm damage. We also provide regional and site-specific strategic environmental climate change and resiliency planning for governments including sea level rise and storm surge risk assessments and mitigation planning, short-range and long-range preparedness planning.

Poor drainage and stormwater management can lead to unnecessary environmental health issues and flood damage.  CDE’s team of professional engineers and scientists has demonstrated experience in stormwater runoff management, flood control, and water quality improvements.  From small-scale, single residential sites to larger subdivision/resort development sites, CDE integrates functional stormwater and drainage improvement designs with best management practices, demonstrating environmental stewardship.  We are well versed in the latest numerical modeling and design techniques for system flushing and hydraulics analysis, hydraulic structure analysis and design, and water quality.

CDE is well versed in the latest modeling tools, techniques, and database technologies to organize data and to analyze watersheds efficiently and accurately. CDE’s engineers are experts in water resource modeling (e.g. SWMM, ICPR, Modret, etc) and solving a full array of complex water resource issues.

We also have a successful project management system in place which allows us to complete our projects to the highest quality, on time and within budget.  We manage and maintain control of our projects using a project milestone approach and the critical path project management system.  During the execution of their work, our engineers are trained and experienced in looking for opportunities to drive efficiencies in the execution of project tasks.

CDE provides expert construction management and oversight.  We understand that the highest quality design can result in a project’s failure if the construction effort is not properly managed.  Tight controls are implemented to maximize compliance with the design intent while adhering to the conditions outlined in the project permits.

CDE has successfully implemented beach and dune restoration and coastal structures projects throughout the Caribbean.  CDE’s team of professional engineers, geologists and scientists has extensive experience in all aspects of beach nourishment and dune restoration projects for storm damage reduction, enhancement of recreational areas and/or environmental restoration purposes.  We have the proven ability to design and permit solutions for storm protection and sand retention using coastal structures in a sustainable manner.  We are internationally recognized for our unique and innovative solutions to beach restoration and coastal structures projects, many of which were the first of their kind installations.

Our services for dredging, sediment re-use and sediment management engineering are associated with maintaining navigability for commerce and private investment, improving flushing and water quality and recycling and reuse of sediments through management and treatment  according to type and quality.  A key component to our success is the sustainable management of dredged sediment for multi-reuse purposes.    We have experience in dredging, dewatering and managing a variety of different sediment types under varying conditions.  These services have been performed in open water (i.e. ocean), tidally influenced (inlets) and closed or semi closed (lakes, canals, bays) systems.    We have a passion for innovative dewatering and water treatment processes to remove fines, organic material, pollutants and other undesirable constituents from dredged effluent.  We have several projects and collaborations underway for use of these technologies within very limited space constraints and with beneficial re-use elements.

We have provided port development and planning services to port authorities and private sector operators throughout the Caribbean. Our services include market studies, demand and traffic forecasting, capital and operational costs analysis, port master planning, efficiency improvements, port infrastructure and dredging. Many waterways, ports and harbours face similar challenges including shoaling of entrance channels, deteriorating infrastructure, degradation of water quality, wave disturbance inside of mooring basins and navigational safety concerns. We are leaders in the innovative solutions to these complex challenges.

Our experience includes the planning, design and development of marinas and related infrastructure. We have provided such services to state-of-the art, high end marinas and resort areas throughout the Caribbean. We provide a full range of services including marina planning and feasibility studies, marine structures, slip mix and marina layout development, numerical modeling, flushing studies, wave attenuation, storm impact assessments, dredging and so forth.

CDE’s team has extensive experience evaluating marine and coastal structures. We provide marina operational, infrastructure and facilities assessments (“marina surveys”) for insurance companies. In addition, we provide above and below water inspection services to assess the health and remaining service life of existing marine and coastal structures such as seawalls, piers, groynes and breakwaters and provide recommendations for repair and/or replacement solutions as needed.

Our experience includes the planning and design of underwater cables, pipelines, complex mooring and anchoring systems and the like for the power, oil and gas, energy and telecom industries.   The design of coastal and marine infrastructure oftentimes presents unique challenges and requires a balance between physical, environmental, and economic conditions, constructability and serviceability.

CDE provides coastal vulnerability assessments and resiliency planning for existing and future waterfront developments.  These services include infrastructure and facilities vulnerabilities to climate change and sea level rise, calculation of wave and flood load for development, identifying elevations of flood-prone buildings and infrastructures, and designing functional and constructible stormwater infrastructure improvements to reduce flooding and storm damage.   We also provide regional and site-specific strategic environmental climate change and resiliency planning for governments including sea level rise and storm surge risk assessments and mitigation planning, short-range and long-range preparedness planning.

While there are a multitude of advanced computer software packages for simulating coastal processes, their reliability is only as good as the professional’s assumptions, understanding of the dynamic process that shape the coastal environment, and accurate interpretation of results. CDE’s professional staff is highly capable in an array of coastal numerical modeling techniques including hydrodynamic and transport modeling of tides, currents, and sediment transport, wave transformation modeling, water quality modeling, plume modeling, and water resources modeling.

Models: ADCIRC, CGWAVE, CMS Flow, CMS Wave, BOUSS-2D, STWAVE, GENCADE, WAM, TUFLOW, RMA, MIKE21, EFDC, WASP, CE-QUAL-W2, CORMIX, Visual Plumes, SWMM, ICPR, Modret.

CDE is well versed in the assessment of impacts of development on the natural, social and economic environments through the environmental impact assessment (EIA) process, and thereby contributing towards sustainable development. We have a demonstrated ability to manage EIAs for large and complex projects throughout the Caribbean utilizing the guidance documents issued by the World Bank and local policies and regulations.

We have developed and implemented an Environmental Monitoring and Mitigation plan (EMMP) for virtually all of our marine based projects in the Caribbean. These plans summarize the environmental impacts (as derived from the EIA), describes the mitigation measures, monitoring and reporting arrangements, assigns responsibilities and implementation schedules, estimates costs and ensures funding for mitigation and monitoring measures. The quality of the EMMP preparation and its integration into the project design and implementation has a strong correlation with the quality of environment compliance.

Nearly all projects require some level of environmental resource management. In support of these projects, our services include qualitative and quantitative resource surveys (e.g. hardbottom, seagrass), shorebird/sea turtle protection and monitoring plans, water quality analysis, wetland delineation, impact assessments, mitigation planning and design and site monitoring.

We have extensive experience in water quality (dissolved oxygen, nutrients and contaminants) as well as mixing zone / plume (near-field and far-field modeling of buoyant plumes and discharge jets) modeling and analysis.

Water quality Models: ADCIRC, MIKE21, EFDC, WASP, CE-QUAL-W2
Plume Models: CORMIX, Visual Plumes

Much of the time, potential environmental impacts can be avoided through careful planning and monitoring. For those impacts that cannot be avoided, CDE has the proven ability to development measures to minimize environmental impacts and develop creative mitigative solutions. Our habitat restoration services include vegetated dune reconstruction, habitat islands, artificial reefs, and the like.

CDE is experienced in the preparation of Environmental Management and Disaster Management Plans for industrial and commercial facilities including power plants and ports/marinas including on-site training seminars of staff and emergency personnel.

CDE offers a full range of hydrographic surveying services to support dredging projects, waterfront development, habitat restoration, and other water based projects. We provide condition surveys, pre- and post-dredge surveys, beach profile surveys, among others. Good data forms the basis for a successful project and we provide data you can trust. Our in-house survey equipment includes a hydroliteTM Trimble DGPS and RTK GPS integrated with AutoCAD and HYPACK.

CDE has deployed a variety of oceanographic instruments in support of coastal engineering field studies throughout the Caribbean and the Americas. We maintain multiple wave and ADCP gauges in-house to measure waves, currents and tides as well as an autonomous turbidity gauge.

The CDE Team has conducted extensive geotechnical investigations in support of our coastal projects including offshore sand searches for beach restoration. We routinely perform jet probes and marine vibracores in remote locations throughout the Caribbean. Jet probes provide a convenient, economic approach to obtain general soil characteristics and depth to rock. Vibracores provide more detailed geotechnical information for engineering and construction. CDE owns a vibracores system with custom portable drilling rig for shallow water coastal environments up to 20 ft of water depth.

For dredging and marine works, marine habitats (e.g. corals, seagrass, etc) are sensitive to elevated turbidity (due to obstruction of light as it passes through water) and/or the sedimentation levels. CDE has extensive experience in the deployment and monitoring of sediment traps, in situ turbidity monitoring and the deployment of autonomous turbidity gauges to support coastal and marine works.

CDE can serve all of your water quality sampling needs including dissolved oxygen, nutrients and contaminants.

Nearly all projects require some level of environmental resource management. In support of these projects, our services include qualitative and quantitative resource surveys (e.g. hardbottom, seagrass), shorebird/sea turtle protection and monitoring plans, water quality analysis, wetland delineation, impact assessments, mitigation planning and design and site monitoring.

Our Team is available for rapid response immediately prior to and following major storm events to document and assess pre- and post-storm documents. Our storm response team is experienced in traveling to remote locations throughout the Caribbean and the Americas. We also offer crisis and disaster recovery planning and design services.