The California sand wars: As beaches shrink, neighbors and cities fight for what’s left – the Los Angeles Times
California is a place of magnificent tectonic forces that lift mountains only for them to be constantly eroded by glaciers, wind and rain, ground down to one of the most basic commodities on Earth: sand…
Where the sea wall ends | Interactive Feature – the Washington Post
At a time of fast-rising seas, the ocean is eating away at this barrier island and others like it. But humans, who have held their ground here for over a century, are planning new condos…
Beach Nourishment: A Critical Look – Gary Griggs | Journal of Coastal Research
More than $15 billion, mostly federal dollars, have been spent moving sand to the shoreline for both recreational and shoreline protection benefits. Still, whether in New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Florida, or California, the life span of the sand added artificially to these beaches in many cases has been relatively short and in some instances has been less than a year…
The homeowner mutiny leaving Florida cities defenseless against hurricanes – Grist Magazine
The Army Corps of Engineers won’t restore eroded beaches in Pinellas County unless homeowners agree to one condition: public access…
Sand Dollars – CBS News Investigations
Federal agencies spend millions every year replacing sand on beaches. Some experts say it’s a waste of tax money….
Add sand, lose sand, repeat. The climate conundrum for beaches – E&E News
Rebuilding beaches after hurricanes is costing U.S. taxpayers billions of dollars more than expected as the Army Corps of Engineers pumps mountains of sand onto storm-obliterated shorelines…
Dredging, beach replenishment continues in Monmouth County – PBS
Tens of millions of dollars pour into the state each year to fund beach replenishment efforts ..
“…we are doing it with the intent of preserving the economic usefulness of oceanfront properties that are being threatened by erosion and shoreline migration, sea-level rise and storm waves and so forth…That methodology (used by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers) is flawed because it uses property value to determine the benefits of nourishment and our belief is that our property values aren’t the correct way to assess the utilization or return on public funds. A better way of doing that is looking at what are the public benefits.”
– Andy Coburn, Associate Director for the Study of Developed Shorelines | Western Carolina State University
Sea Isle’s Beach Replenishment Project to Start in Spring – Sea Isle News
Sea Isle City approved a $3.2 million funding package Tuesday to pay for its share of a beach replenishment project that will restore parts of its eroded shoreline with 640,000 cubic yards of fresh sand…(that) is part of a $33.7 million project by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers that will include replenishing the storm-damaged beaches and dunes in the southern end of Ocean City and Strathmere…
At risk from rising seas, Norfolk, Virginia, plans massive, controversial floodwall – NPR
The city (of Norfolk) is now moving forward with a massive floodwall project to protect itself, in partnership with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The project will include tide gates, levees, pump stations and nature-based features like oyster reefs and vegetation along the shoreline. It’s one of the biggest infrastructure efforts in city history – and an example of projects the Corps has proposed up and down the U.S. coastline, from New York to Texas….