By Barb Aue, SOUTH BEACH Bulletin
After an unseasonably dry and sometimes cold September and October, the first major fall storm front to hit the South Beach came in with a vengeance on Friday, November 8th. Driving rain quickly filled gutters and downspouts with long-absent water. Road depressions became puddles and drybeds returned to pond status in short order.
The early afternoon high tide, tabled at 10.1 feet, was estimated at closer to twelve. Winds out of the west sent wave surges flying over the revetment wall along Neddie Rose Drive. Water poured along Westhaven and then spilled into the marina in a waterfall, forcing business owners to sandbag vulnerable doorways for several blocks.
At Half Moon Bay, wave surges came around the eastern tip of the South Jetty, crashing against the bay's southern shore, drastically accelerating the rate at which the waves have been chewing away fill placed there by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers last summer. By storm's end, the distance between the Westhaven State Park restrooms and Half Moon Bay was reduced to a scant 50 yards.
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The embankment running south from the South Jetty appears to have fared better, with some erosion but no major cuts in the bank as have been evidenced in the past. The wave refraction mound, a pile of large rocks at the east end of the jetty to reinforce it against wave damage, appeared to serve its purpose well.
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The Corps had crews on site at the South Jetty on Friday but their purpose wasn't erosion control— at least not directly. Earth movers and trucks worked atop the spit of land to create hillocks in preparation for dune grass planting. The planting is scheduled to take place this coming weekend and into next week.
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According to Westport City Administrator Randy Lewis, Corps engineers inspected the erosion site on Tuesday and plan to add to the gravel berm that runs along the base of the sand fill. abutting Half Moon Bay.
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