Erosion is a serious problem on the Massachusetts shoreline, especially, when those powerful winter storms start arriving.
The latest example of extreme erosion is at Town Neck Beach in Sandwich, where a $10 million restoration project was completed this year.
“The idea was that it would last five to seven years, but as you can see, about half of it is gone,” said Bill Boles of the Trustees of Sandwich Beaches.
The shoreline in Sandwich, Massachusetts.
The U.S. Army Corp of Engineers dumped more than 300,000 cubic yards of sand on the shoreline to protect a nearby salt marsh and the town from the rising tides. It was seen a sustainable solution for 5 to 7 years.
“This a very popular beach, and the town has invested a lot of money in the boardwalk,” said Laura Wing, president of the beach trustees. “I know the whole town wants to preserve it as much as possible.”
Town Neck and First Beach have lost 15 to 20 feet of the new sand — and this season’s winter storms haven’t arrived yet.
David DeConto, director of natural resources for Sandwich, says he was surprised by the amount of erosion.
“It’s one of those things where you can’t do nothing. Any sand gives some protection to downtown. You never know how long it’s going to last. This is not a one-time placement of sand,” DeConto said.
The problem is a jetty at the mouth of the Cape Cod Canal, which starves beaches in town from shifting sands.
“There’s beach erosion happening all over the place, but in Sandwich, we have a double whammy because we have the Cape Cod Canal that’s interfering with sand flow,” Wing said.
The town does have a number of sources for sand when it needs it, including when the canal is dredged every five years.
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