By Jenny Lynn Zappala - Daily World Writer. The Aberdeen Daily World , 1/6/2001
To find out more on the North Jetty, click on the word search SEARCH and then type in your search terms , i.e. North Jetty |
OCEAN SHORES - An U.S. Army Corps of Engineers proposal designed to cut dredging costs for Grays Harbor might have a side benefit, halting beach erosion that threatens homes just north of the jetty at Ocean Shores.
The Corps is exploring a plan to build a submerged dike at the North Jetty.
The hope is that it would capture sand that normally migrates south and around the jetty and into the shipping channel.
That would reduce dredging costs. And, Ocean Shores officials are hoping, it could capture sand along the beach and halt erosion.
According to preliminary studies by the Corps of Engineers, the proposal is also more affordable and more likely to attract state and federal funding than the other erosion solutions suggested in a study of the beach, said City Manager Mike Wilson.
This year, the Corps and Coastal Communities - a partnership of coastal governments including Ocean Shores - will spend $1.15 million to build detailed physical and computer models to prove the theory and justify the project's price tag of $15 million to $20 million.
That compares to estimates of $70 million to $90 million for other erosion proposals.
"There's a lot more science that needs to be applied before the Corps is satisfied that it's a worthwhile project," the city manager said. "It's refreshing from a taxpayer standpoint that a great deal of thought and experimentation will be applied before the Corps commits to it."
If the project is approved, the underwater dike could be constructed as early as 2002 or 2003. The starting date, however, would depend entirely on the Corps' construction schedule, said Mike Daniels, executive director of Pacific International Engineering, a consultant for Coastal Communities.
Until recently, Daniels had been Grays Harbor County's public services director and has worked on this project from the outset.
The dike would be 1,500 to 2,000 feet long and built out of armored rock, or gigantic sausage - like tubes made of plastic and filled with sand called "geotubes," or some other material anchored to the ocean floor, Daniels said.
Starting at the western tip of the North Jetty, the submerged dike would run parallel to the beach, hidden under the waves.
Research by the U.S. Geological Survey and Pacific International Engineering indicates the submerged dike will take advantage of the ocean's summer currents.
In theory, the dike will capture a "plume of sand" that migrates south along the beach and save the Corps $500,000 a year in dredging costs, Daniels explained.
Last November, the Corps completed a four - month, $200,000 study that demonstrated the concept works, said Mark Howard, Corps project manager in Seattle.
The Corps has received $1 million from Congress to build sophisticated computer and physical models in Vicksburg, Miss., to test the dike's effectiveness.
The local entities and Pacific International Engineering will conduct independent, supporting tests at a site in Ottawa, Canada, next year to see if the dike can withstand severe winter storms. For funding, Coastal Communities is providing $100,000 and Ocean Shores is paying $50,000, Daniels said.
"There are multiple efforts going on, but they are all the same effort," said Daniels.
From 1996 to 1998, Ocean Shores property owners and city officials became concerned when winter storms began eroding property near the North Jetty in huge chunks of up to 30 feet in a single storm. Erosion represented a drastic turn of events since the North Beach had been accreting for years.
Some city officials and property owners are concerned the waves will breach the dunes and damage the city's infrastructure in the near future.
In May 1998, Ocean Shores released a draft environmental impact statement outlining four alternatives: no action, retreat, beach nourishment and building a structure/bulkhead.
The submerged dike, "was one of many (options) proposed early on," Wilson explained. "It was discarded because they didn't have the information that they are operating on now."
Last year, the Corps received $100,000 in federal funding to finalize the environmental impact statement and determine whether there was a federal interest in protecting the shoreline, according to Howard, the Corps project manager.
The good news: there is a federal interest under the Corps' federal authority to prevent flooding, said Howard.
The bad news: The Corps and the city would have to pay an additional $1 million each to complete the study and pick the best alternative.
Each alternative ranged from $70 million to $90 million each and, "were all so terribly expensive that they weren't options to the city," Wilson said.
The city balked, and further work on the draft environmental impact statement was suspended and the city chose to look more closely at the submerged dike.
"It doesn't mean we've stopped," looking at all of the alternatives, Wilson said. "But why spend a million dollars pursuing a project that you know you're never going to be able to afford?"
Bill Heinlein, 73, of Ocean Shores, who lives on the threatened beach, says the new idea is interesting, but he has two questions: Is it viable? Is it feasible?
"We have had so many, many studies that, 'Here we go with one more study,' but if this thing is feasible, then it is worth pursuing," said the retired Army officer.
"I do hope they allow the citizens to get involved down along the road," Heinlein added. "I realize that the ultimate decision is going to be governmental. I would like to see the private citizens involved in these planning meetings."
Gary Austin, 52, who also lives in the erosion area, said the study is, "the most positive thing to come out since the erosion thing started."
"That's good news. I obviously didn't want to give up my place and get 50 cents on the dollar," he said.
Austin said he's already waited four years for a solution and he already expected to wait a few more.
"The city has worked hard trying to find a solution and they don't have a lot of money. They have searched and searched and kept an open mind ... and I think it's paying off."
Both Heinlein and Austin pointed out their beach - front properties lost 30 to 90 feet in the mid - 1990s. Several feet of beach has accreted back in recent years.
The city has also experienced mild weather in recent years, but it won't last forever, the city manager said.
"Mother Nature deposits and Mother Nature can take it away."
Jenny Lynn Zappala is a Daily World reporter. She can be reached at (360) 532 - 4000, ext. 132, or by e - mail at jzappala@thedailyworld.
This page created and maintained by Chehalis River Council
Send comments or questions to the: Chehalis River Council