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I would love to read it, do you remember the name of the article or exaclty where it is located on the webpage?

Interesting thing regarding beach erosion:  A recently published study by UGA scientists suggests that seawalls make beach erosion worse by hindering the natural beach replenishment processes--sand intrusion, natural beach vegetation and sand dunes..  The study is so suggestive, that officials on Jekyll Island, GA have begun to remove the seawall that was constructed there back in the 1940s, and thus allow for the natural forces to construct the [B]more effective [/B] barriers to beach erosion.

I would love to read it, do you remember the name of the article or exaclty where it is located on the webpage? 
 
Interesting thing regarding beach erosion: A recently published study by UGA scientists suggests that seawalls make beach erosion worse by hindering the natural beach replenishment processes--sand intrusion, natural beach vegetation and sand dunes.. The study is so suggestive, that officials on Jekyll Island, GA have begun to remove the seawall that was constructed there back in the 1940s, and thus allow for the natural forces to construct the more effective barriers to beach erosion.

katie blue

kt loo

Here you go:

WHEN Michael and Eleanore Kennedy's gray-shingled house, which overlooks the ocean just west of Georgica Pond in Wainscott, N.Y., was built in the late 1870's, it stood behind three rows of dunes. The hurricane of 1938, which made a direct hit on Long Island, took out the first row, and the ocean has been chewing away ever since.
Skip to next paragraph
Doug Kuntz for The New York Times

In East Hampton jetties east of Georgica Pond keep sand from flowing west, where it is needed.

Today the house is perched at the edge of the beach, surviving only because the Kennedys went to court to get permission to build a $400,000 rock wall. But last month an unusual onslaught of bad weather - days of extreme wind and heavy rain followed by a northeaster - caused extensive erosion to the coast. The sand that covers the Kennedys' wall was stripped away, and many neighbors lost decks or found their beach walkways hanging perilously over open air.

So homeowners on South Shore of Long Island are again in a bitter debate: can development, even if it is relatively sparse, coexist with nature on an eroding beach?

The State of New York says, in effect, that it cannot. It normally bars walls and other protective measures, like the seawall the Kennedys won permission to build. But as the erosion of the past weeks heightens the crisis, homeowners are now petitioning for special dispensation to protect their property from the coming winter storms.

So far, according to Gabrielle DeMarco, speaking for the State Environmental Conservation Department, the state has given eight homeowners permission to use sandbags of 70 to 100 pounds each on about 1,400 feet of beach in Sagaponack, Bridgehampton and Water Mill. That's not enough, said Roy Scheider, the actor, who lives on the beach in Sagaponack. He said experts had told him that sandbags would protect his house against only "two mild storms," adding that he should be able to do more, like stabilizing the property with rocks.

Patricia Grantham, whose house in Sagaponack perches ominously at the very edge of the beach, said she and her husband, Ashby, were among homeowners who asked the state to let them put concrete blocks or other armor in front of their homes. They are prepared to pay to do it, she said. "It's pretty frightening when someone tells you you cannot protect your property," she said.

The situation is all the more alarming, Mr. Kennedy said, because the storms have left the beach short of sand before the winter storm season. Instead, winter will begin "with the most depleted beach I've seen in many years," he said, adding, "We are starting seminude, and that always gives us a sense of foreboding."

Coastal scientists say that if you build a fixed wall on an eroding beach, the wall will eventually be left at the water's edge. Some scientists also argue that, under some conditions, hard structures like sea walls can actually accelerate erosion.

The property owners say that if they are prepared to spend what it takes to maintain the beach by importing replacement sand, as Mr. Kennedy says he has done and will do again this season, they should be allowed to armor their houses with barriers like rocks or sheets of metal driven into the ground.

In addition, they say they are the victims not just of unusual weather but of unwise coastal engineering: a set of rock fingers built out from the beach to the east, in front of a house once owned by Calvin Klein.

Those rock projections, commonly called jetties but known to coastal engineers as groins, trap sand in currents flowing along the shore - typically, on the South Shore, from east to west. So sand piles up east of the groins, but the shore to the west is starved of it. When storm waves carry sand offshore, little flows in to replace it.

But even if there were no groins, the South Shore would still be eroding. "The erosion would be less localized," said Norbert Psuty, a coastal scientist at Rutgers. "But all this is symptomatic of the main problem: there is not enough sand in the system."

As currents carry sand along Long Island, he said, there is no good source to replenish it except by erosion of property that abuts the beach. Though sand moves onshore in summer and offshore in winter, he added, the coast is eroding over all, whether or not it is affected by groins or other engineering.

As global climate change raises sea levels, the erosion can only accelerate.

 There are various ways to try to cope with this, and the Kennedys and their neighbors have tried most of them. Some ran bulldozers over the beach, skimming off the top layer of sand and piling it at the foot of the bluff in front of their homes. Mr. Kennedy said that when Georgica Pond was dredged in the winter of 1979-80, he and his neighbors applied the dredged sand to the beach. And they had sand from inland trucked to the beach.
Skip to next paragraph
Doug Kuntz for The New York Times

Homes like that of Michael and Eleanore Kennedy need sand that is held back by the jetties east of Georgica Pond.

But the advancing ocean more than kept pace. So with the water chewing at the land under their houses, Mr. Kennedy's neighbors want to do what he has already done: armor their homes with, among other things, chunks of concrete below the bluff. But in meetings after the recent storms, state officials limited them to the use of sandbags, a more temporary measure.

Aram Terchunian, who heads First Coastal, a consulting firm that offers advice on coastal issues to Long Island counties, municipalities and property owners including Mr. Scheider, said the sandbag approach is inadequate. As long as the groins are in place, he said, property owners should be allowed to protect themselves from their effects. "You have to have even odds," he said.

Mr. Scheider, who said his house used to be 130 feet from the beach and is now only 30 feet away, said he spends thousands of dollars every year on beach grass and fencing to trap sand. He said he would have sandbags installed as soon as possible.

But some property owners don't have even his safety margin. If sandbags are not enough, he said, his neighbors will not watch their houses fall into the ocean, even if it means violating state regulations. "They are going to put up a fight," he predicted.

Ms. DeMarco said the state would evaluate the condition of the beach next spring and help "rehabilitate" the coastline. But she said it was unlikely that any rehabilitation would involve rock walls or other hard structures. Mr. Kennedy, a lawyer in Manhattan, said he is prepared to pay what it takes to save his house, which he said is worth at least $15 million. He said he would not even guess how much he and his wife have spent over the years on sand. "A tremendous amount of money," he said.

But the house "is just too important to lose," Mr. Kennedy said, adding, "It's vastly more important than money."

Here you go: 
 
WHEN Michael and Eleanore Kennedy&#039;s gray-shingled house, which overlooks the ocean just west of Georgica Pond in Wainscott, N.Y., was built in the late 1870&#039;s, it stood behind three rows of dunes. The hurricane of 1938, which made a direct hit on Long Island, took out the first row, and the ocean has been chewing away ever since. 
Skip to next paragraph 
Doug Kuntz for The New York Times 
 
In East Hampton jetties east of Georgica Pond keep sand from flowing west, where it is needed. 
 
Today the house is perched at the edge of the beach, surviving only because the Kennedys went to court to get permission to build a $400,000 rock wall. But last month an unusual onslaught of bad weather - days of extreme wind and heavy rain followed by a northeaster - caused extensive erosion to the coast. The sand that covers the Kennedys&#039; wall was stripped away, and many neighbors lost decks or found their beach walkways hanging perilously over open air. 
 
So homeowners on South Shore of Long Island are again in a bitter debate: can development, even if it is relatively sparse, coexist with nature on an eroding beach? 
 
The State of New York says, in effect, that it cannot. It normally bars walls and other protective measures, like the seawall the Kennedys won permission to build. But as the erosion of the past weeks heightens the crisis, homeowners are now petitioning for special dispensation to protect their property from the coming winter storms. 
 
So far, according to Gabrielle DeMarco, speaking for the State Environmental Conservation Department, the state has given eight homeowners permission to use sandbags of 70 to 100 pounds each on about 1,400 feet of beach in Sagaponack, Bridgehampton and Water Mill. That&#039;s not enough, said Roy Scheider, the actor, who lives on the beach in Sagaponack. He said experts had told him that sandbags would protect his house against only &quot;two mild storms,&quot; adding that he should be able to do more, like stabilizing the property with rocks. 
 
Patricia Grantham, whose house in Sagaponack perches ominously at the very edge of the beach, said she and her husband, Ashby, were among homeowners who asked the state to let them put concrete blocks or other armor in front of their homes. They are prepared to pay to do it, she said. &quot;It&#039;s pretty frightening when someone tells you you cannot protect your property,&quot; she said. 
 
The situation is all the more alarming, Mr. Kennedy said, because the storms have left the beach short of sand before the winter storm season. Instead, winter will begin &quot;with the most depleted beach I&#039;ve seen in many years,&quot; he said, adding, &quot;We are starting seminude, and that always gives us a sense of foreboding.&quot; 
 
Coastal scientists say that if you build a fixed wall on an eroding beach, the wall will eventually be left at the water&#039;s edge. Some scientists also argue that, under some conditions, hard structures like sea walls can actually accelerate erosion. 
 
The property owners say that if they are prepared to spend what it takes to maintain the beach by importing replacement sand, as Mr. Kennedy says he has done and will do again this season, they should be allowed to armor their houses with barriers like rocks or sheets of metal driven into the ground. 
 
In addition, they say they are the victims not just of unusual weather but of unwise coastal engineering: a set of rock fingers built out from the beach to the east, in front of a house once owned by Calvin Klein. 
 
Those rock projections, commonly called jetties but known to coastal engineers as groins, trap sand in currents flowing along the shore - typically, on the South Shore, from east to west. So sand piles up east of the groins, but the shore to the west is starved of it. When storm waves carry sand offshore, little flows in to replace it. 
 
But even if there were no groins, the South Shore would still be eroding. &quot;The erosion would be less localized,&quot; said Norbert Psuty, a coastal scientist at Rutgers. &quot;But all this is symptomatic of the main problem: there is not enough sand in the system.&quot; 
 
As currents carry sand along Long Island, he said, there is no good source to replenish it except by erosion of property that abuts the beach. Though sand moves onshore in summer and offshore in winter, he added, the coast is eroding over all, whether or not it is affected by groins or other engineering. 
 
As global climate change raises sea levels, the erosion can only accelerate. 
 
 There are various ways to try to cope with this, and the Kennedys and their neighbors have tried most of them. Some ran bulldozers over the beach, skimming off the top layer of sand and piling it at the foot of the bluff in front of their homes. Mr. Kennedy said that when Georgica Pond was dredged in the winter of 1979-80, he and his neighbors applied the dredged sand to the beach. And they had sand from inland trucked to the beach. 
Skip to next paragraph 
Doug Kuntz for The New York Times 
 
Homes like that of Michael and Eleanore Kennedy need sand that is held back by the jetties east of Georgica Pond. 
 
But the advancing ocean more than kept pace. So with the water chewing at the land under their houses, Mr. Kennedy&#039;s neighbors want to do what he has already done: armor their homes with, among other things, chunks of concrete below the bluff. But in meetings after the recent storms, state officials limited them to the use of sandbags, a more temporary measure. 
 
Aram Terchunian, who heads First Coastal, a consulting firm that offers advice on coastal issues to Long Island counties, municipalities and property owners including Mr. Scheider, said the sandbag approach is inadequate. As long as the groins are in place, he said, property owners should be allowed to protect themselves from their effects. &quot;You have to have even odds,&quot; he said. 
 
Mr. Scheider, who said his house used to be 130 feet from the beach and is now only 30 feet away, said he spends thousands of dollars every year on beach grass and fencing to trap sand. He said he would have sandbags installed as soon as possible. 
 
But some property owners don&#039;t have even his safety margin. If sandbags are not enough, he said, his neighbors will not watch their houses fall into the ocean, even if it means violating state regulations. &quot;They are going to put up a fight,&quot; he predicted. 
 
Ms. DeMarco said the state would evaluate the condition of the beach next spring and help &quot;rehabilitate&quot; the coastline. But she said it was unlikely that any rehabilitation would involve rock walls or other hard structures. Mr. Kennedy, a lawyer in Manhattan, said he is prepared to pay what it takes to save his house, which he said is worth at least $15 million. He said he would not even guess how much he and his wife have spent over the years on sand. &quot;A tremendous amount of money,&quot; he said. 
 
But the house &quot;is just too important to lose,&quot; Mr. Kennedy said, adding, &quot;It&#039;s vastly more important than money.&quot;

DBOldford

Beach Fanatic

Thanks, Katie Blue!  I am technologically challenged, but wellmeaining.

Rita

margarita brocolia

Miss Kitty

Meow

Unfortunately, you are preaching to the choir here!  Do people putting these things up ignore the research or are they just 'desperate houseowners'?

Unfortunately, you are preaching to the choir here!  Do people putting these things up ignore the research or are they just &#039;desperate houseowners&#039;?

Smiling JOe

SoWal Expert

[QUOTE=Sueshore]Unfortunately, you are preaching to the choir here! Do people putting these things up ignore the research or are they just 'desperate houseowners'?[/QUOTE]

both, except for the people who don't do any research. Those would be the Jones wannabees.

<blockquote class="xfBb-quote" data-name="Sueshore">Unfortunately, you are preaching to the choir here! Do people putting these things up ignore the research or are they just &#039;desperate houseowners&#039;?</blockquote> 
both, except for the people who don&#039;t do any research. Those would be the Jones wannabees.

Today's NY Times has an article on beach erosion that is quite relevant to our problems in South Walton.  Check it out on [url]www.newyorktimes.com[/url]

Sorry that I don't know how to post the Web site here.

Today&#039;s NY Times has an article on beach erosion that is quite relevant to our problems in South Walton. Check it out on <a href="http://www.newyorktimes.com" target="_blank" class="link link--external" rel="nofollow ugc noopener">www.newyorktimes.com</a> 
 
Sorry that I don&#039;t know how to post the Web site here.

NY Times article about beach erosion

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NY Times article about beach erosion

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After Hurricane Isaias: Photos of South Walton Beaches

Cars of 30A At Alys Beach: Event Highlights & Photo Gallery

Sixth annual Run Watersound At Watersound Town Center October 24, 2026

Support Our Parks: The 2026 Friends of Camp Helen Pumpkin Patch Is Open