Living on a barrier island is all about obeying the rules of the ocean. And living with the ocean is all about mitigation techniques that have been employed on the barrier islands along the Gulf and Atlantic coasts to keep the ocean and sounds at bay. In previous blogs, I examined jetties, one of the first mitigation techniques employed, and sea walls. Both techniques are referred to as "hard stabilization." Hard stabilization techniques cut off sand supply. But, barrier islands require a reliable sand supply to survive.
And, that is why in recent years, mitigation techniques have focused on beach renourishment projects. In my previous blog, I reviewed one such renourishment project in Long Branch, NJ. Like jetties and seawalls, previously, beach renourishment has been used with middling success to stabilize the beaches along the Jersey Shore. The goal here in this blog is not to beat up on the Jersey Shore. After all, I spent many a pleasant day driving down Highway 9 en route to Point Pleasant, Belmar and Seaside Heights.
So, let’s find another victim of history in another state. A great example is Miami Beach, Florida, where after one groin was built was built, many others followed in “self-defense.” Prior to the 1977 beach nourishment project, Miami Beach looked like an Army obstacle course; groins obstructed both pedestrian and vehicular traffic. Now, only through an eternal commitment to beach nourishment can the artificial beach be maintained. This beach renourishment project is economically feasible for this city because of the large number of people that use these beaches, the great number of oceanfront high-rise condominiums and the enormous amount of revenues generated by the beach goers and the real estate taxes. There will come a time, however, when the economics of beach renourishment will no longer make sense. And, then, another mitigation technique, relocation, may become a player in our desire to live with the ocean.
To summarize this second series of blogs, as long as storm surges, high winds, heavy rain, stronger hurricanes and nor'easters continue to batter the shoreline, beach erosion will be an escalating problem, making sand a hot commodity. Confronted with this reality, residents in communities weighing engineering shorelines strategies, whether hard or soft, face three major challenges. First, beach erosion is a community problem for coastal residents. In New Jersey, for example, over 60 percent of the population lives in coastal towns located on over 125 miles of coastline. Second, beach erosion is an economic problem. Coastal tourism accounts for a large amount of New Jersey’s revenue, as it does in many other coastal states. Disappearing shorelines lead to the loss of homes and recreational areas, a decrease in tourism and tax revenue, and a concomitant increase in taxes spent on recovery and repair. Third, beach erosion is an environmental problem. Current methods used to reduce beach erosion and replenish the beaches can interfere with not only wildlife habitat but also increased density of development.
In the next series of blogs, , I will examine how coastal communities in North Carolina evaluate and execute engineering shoreline strategies and how these choices impact community, economic and environmental concerns. That being said, to learn more about life in Emerald Isle, NC, go to my website, www.EIHomesforSale.com and request my free Guide to Living Were You Vacation or text your email address to: 919-308-2292.
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