The Challenge
The National Park Service needed measurements and analysis of watercraft noise to support an environmental impact statement on the effects of personal watercraft.
The Strategy
HMMH:
- Measured reference pass-by noise levels of many personal watercraft and motorboats to determine any significant differences among them
- Conducted continuous monitoring of ambient noise levels in areas with different levels of visitor use to establish the existing conditions
- Used the reference pass-by noise to develop a computer model to predict noise levels and watercraft audibility for alternative scenarios of watercraft usage on the lake
The Solution
The audibility analysis determines how far from the shoreline one must be for watercraft noise to be audible at all and for different percentages of time.
