The Little Bay project created 30 acres of wetland on Mississippi Sound and protected another 1,000 acres of some of the most productive estuary in the nation. It includes breakwaters, sand and vegetation planting. South Coast Engineers provided the coastal engineering design with a unique, porous, offshore breakwater system to provide just enough wave attenuation for the growth of a Spartina alterniflora fringe wetland while also allowing maximum ingress and egress for finfish and shellfish with habitat for oysters. Original laboratory test results were used to optimize the design of the breakwater. The largest living shoreline project in Alabama history was constructed in 2010 and has won numerous awards from engineering and conservation groups for its innovative design including:
- Alabama Engineering Hall of Fame – Inducted in 2015
- 2011 Engineering Excellence Award – National Recognition Award from the American Council of Engineering Companies (note: this national award gala is called the “Academy Awards” of the engineering industry and the overall winner in 2011 was the Hoover Dam Bypass Bridge)
- 2011 First Place Award of Excellence – Carl V. Anderson Conservation Project Award (Association of Conservation Engineers)
- 2011 Engineering Excellence Award – Grand Award (American Council of Engineering Companies of Alabama, ACEC-Alabama)
- 2011 Gulf Guardian Award – 3rd place – Business Category (EPA Gulf of Mexico Program)
- 2011 Project of the Year – Mobile Area Council of Engineers