Beach Renourishment By: Charlene Lloyd, Crystal Earle, Richard Byars, Richard Tuckfield, Christine Burgess, Kaley Foley

What is Beach Renourishment? Replenishment of sand for beaches Sand is dredged off the ocean’s floor Pump sand through pipes onto the beach Sand is then shaped & built into dunes and beaches

Why Beach Renourishment?

How It Works…

Ecological Costs Hurts sea life on ocean’s floor from dredging. Sea turtle nesting areas are endangered by some renourishment projects. Seawalls and jetties accelerate beach erosion.

How much does it cost? Is it a waste of money? 10-15 million spent annually and more on hard structures 200 cubic yards of sand has gone to renourish America’s beaches Sand can cost as much as $5 per cubic yard A new beach can cost 2 million per square miles Beaches must be continually renourished

Does it work? Yes, temporarily Not efficient in long run Extensive costs are not worth it

Who benefits? Beach businesses Tourists Property owners Historic preservationists

Who pays for beach renourishment? U.S. Army Corps of Engineers designs and implements renourishment operations and pays for them.

Who pays… Tax payers 65% paid for by federal tax and the remainder of costs is paid by state and local governments. Increased cost of taxpayer-subsidized flood insurance payments when floods and hurricanes occur.

How is this related to the Commons? Public beaches are a commons. Property owners and businesses are the “economic man.” Individual gain in property values and tourism for businesses but all citizens pay Temporary technical solution Maximizes one beach while diminishing surrounding beaches

Pros and Cons Pros Increased tourism/recreation Economic positives Aesthetically pleasing Cons Adversely effects the habitat of endangered species. Hurts Surf Zone Environments Program Hurts Taxpayers

Resolution Current beach renourishment programs do not work Other possibilities…managed retreat and the UK 5th Amendment implications

Questions?

Work Cited http://www.wrightsville.com/story_of_beach_renourishment_at_wrightsville_beach.htm http://www.greenscissors.org/water/beach.htm http://www.beachtobay.org/html/beach_renourishment.htm http://wps.prenhall.com/esm_thurman_introocean_9/0,7305,348174-,00.html http://comewalkwithme.com/Beach.html http://www.islandtime.com/ShiftingSands/ http://nhs.needham.k12.ma.us/cur/enviro_9697/beach/ beach.html