Beach Nourishment Alone Will Not Bring Back San Diego’s Beaches
OK; let’s put this in perspective…
“A retreating shoreline without buildings is not a problem. A retreating shoreline with buildings is an erosion problem. Since buildings are clearly the cause, should public funds be used to solve a problem created by affluent beachfront property owners irresponsible enough to build next to an eroding shoreline? We say no. Let the buildings fall in or, even better, move them back or demolish them and the beach will be as wide and as useable as ever. And it will have a healthy ecosystem.” -Orrin Pilkey, Professor of Geology and Director of the Program for the Study of Developed Shorelines (PSDS), Duke University
San Diego’s sandless beaches are the product of decades of ill-conceived, shortsighted land use decisions involving dam and harbor construction, oceanfront and bluff-top development, flood control and the inescapable consequences of amaranthine sea level rise. Wise stewardship of our precious coastal resources-now more than ever- should not be left to the whim of a few privileged coastal property owners and their hired gun lobbyists and engineers who brazenly work to siphon limited public funds in a self-enriching, ill-conceived attempt to maintain their plate glass ocean view.
It is time to account for the illusions being perpetrated by beach nourishment pressure groups. Artificial beach engineering is not a panacea. The evidence is in: SANDAG’s 2001 beach nourishment project, which cost over $17.5 million dollars, plopped 2-million yards off sand across 12 beaches and temporarily widened those shores by over 25-feet. That sand is now gone from view, offering no added opportunities for public enjoyment, no recreational value, and, ironically, no added protection for eroding coastal bluffs and the opulent, fortified residential coastal properties that loom nearby. At the most studied of the beaches, Torrey Pines State Beach, where SANDAG dumped 330,000 yards of sand on 1600-feet of beach in April 2001, the artificial beach sat for 7 months of low waves, and then was entirely washed away within 12 hours on the first day of significant wave action on Thanksgiving Day, 2001. Gone in a single day!
Nearshore beach nourishment may have a bit role in particular, unique or specific instances, but the public is correct to question the wisdom of continuously devoting finite public funds at the behest of an incredulous few to safeguard their short-term economic interests. Sea levels are rising; our coastlines are retreating. We must brace ourselves, and develop long-term plans for the benefit of the environment and public at large. Sacrificing our public beaches to private seawalls is clearly not the answer, and the science indisputable: SANDAG’s “restored” beaches and, indeed, artificial beaches nationwide, are bettered measured with a stopwatch than the sands of geologic time.
Without a coherent vision that includes dam removal, river restoration, seawall prevention and removal, managed retreat and other less costly and more environmentally sound measures, artificial beach nourishment engineering projects are exorbitantly priced and exceedingly short-lived.
That beaches exist at all proves Professor Pilkey’s argument that given space the sea’s timeless dance with the shore will continue to inspire our awe and rejuvenate our sense of wilderness for generations to come. In the end, tossing bought sand in front of seawalls is a foolhardy enterprise. Much more important and cost effective are decisions regarding where we build and where we don’t. Where we move back and make room for the beach- that is our gift to our grandchildren and the ultimate measure of our forethought and wisdom.
For more information regarding the costs, impacts and science of beach nourishment, start with UCSC Professor Gary Griggs’ excellent book “Living with the Changing California Coast” (UC Press 2005) and his follow up article “Understanding California’s Shoreline” (October 2006) at
http://www.dbw.ca.gov/CSMW/PDF/LittoralDrift.pdf For more on Professor Pilkey’s analysis of beach nourishment, go to
http://www.csc.noaa.gov/beachnourishment/html/human/dialog/index.htm
Mark Massara is a public interest environmental attorney specializing in coastal pollution, protection development and beach access issues. Mr. Massara is Director of Sierra Club’s Coastal Programs.
