282
R.H. Charlier and Chr. P. De Meyer
Existing coastline constructions are thus imperiled. It is necessary that
regulations be enacted, governing any further building and setting a safe beach
set-back of constructions proportional to the anticipated life of proposed "hard"
structures. On the North Carolina coast this is thirty times the annual rate of
erosion.
Shoreline retreat cannot be stopped but it can be slowed and loss of beach
material can be compensated. The phenomenon is nearly universal, due to natural
causes, but compounded by man's intervention and desire to use the coastal zone
to its fullest extent. The economic consequences of coastal erosion are
considerable. In some areas retreat has been advocated, regardless of loss. Makeshift breakwaters have been installed by private owners in many sites, particularly
along the East Coast of the United States. These artisanal structures are in
imitation of the usual practice of placing "hard" structures along eroding
shorelines.
Hard defenses are either perpendicular or parallel to the coastline, although some
structures have been placed at an angle or in a zigzagging pattern. The cost of
keeping up the breakwaters, jetties, sea walls, groins, etc. is often high ; such
constructions are occasionally severely damaged, even destroyed, during heavy
storms. Moreover, in most cases (on the Oman coast rgportedly this did not
occur), while a stretch of beach is indeed protected from erosion, the adjoining
downer segment suffers from increased erosion as it is material starved.
While in some instances a mixed hard-and-soft approach appears adequate or
even necessary, artificial sand nourishment offers an alternative which conforms
closer to the natural processes. It has been tried for many decades on a small
scale. Newer technologies have lowered the relative cost. Some agencies find it a
useful and acceptable way to dispose of harmless waste. Many modest projects
have been implemented since the end of World War II, in Europe and the
Americas. Loss of deposited materials, according to follow-up observation,
appears commonly modest so that maintenance is economically bearable. One of
the largest beach nourishment schemes, at least as far as volume of material
deposited is concerned, has been completed in Belgium simultaneously with the
construction of a new harbor at Zeebrugge. The results are satisfactory and
similar works are underway for another segment of the coastline. Furthermore the
new situation has contributed to the gradual occlusion of a gully to which
material removed from the beach was carried.
The "soft medicine" to restore ailing beaches should be considered as an
advisable solution for endangered beaches there where economic dictates require
their protection and restoration.
R.H. Charlier and Chr. P. De Meyer
Existing coastline constructions are thus imperiled. It is necessary that
regulations be enacted, governing any further building and setting a safe beach
set-back of constructions proportional to the anticipated life of proposed "hard"
structures. On the North Carolina coast this is thirty times the annual rate of
erosion.
Shoreline retreat cannot be stopped but it can be slowed and loss of beach
material can be compensated. The phenomenon is nearly universal, due to natural
causes, but compounded by man's intervention and desire to use the coastal zone
to its fullest extent. The economic consequences of coastal erosion are
considerable. In some areas retreat has been advocated, regardless of loss. Makeshift breakwaters have been installed by private owners in many sites, particularly
along the East Coast of the United States. These artisanal structures are in
imitation of the usual practice of placing "hard" structures along eroding
shorelines.
Hard defenses are either perpendicular or parallel to the coastline, although some
structures have been placed at an angle or in a zigzagging pattern. The cost of
keeping up the breakwaters, jetties, sea walls, groins, etc. is often high ; such
constructions are occasionally severely damaged, even destroyed, during heavy
storms. Moreover, in most cases (on the Oman coast rgportedly this did not
occur), while a stretch of beach is indeed protected from erosion, the adjoining
downer segment suffers from increased erosion as it is material starved.
While in some instances a mixed hard-and-soft approach appears adequate or
even necessary, artificial sand nourishment offers an alternative which conforms
closer to the natural processes. It has been tried for many decades on a small
scale. Newer technologies have lowered the relative cost. Some agencies find it a
useful and acceptable way to dispose of harmless waste. Many modest projects
have been implemented since the end of World War II, in Europe and the
Americas. Loss of deposited materials, according to follow-up observation,
appears commonly modest so that maintenance is economically bearable. One of
the largest beach nourishment schemes, at least as far as volume of material
deposited is concerned, has been completed in Belgium simultaneously with the
construction of a new harbor at Zeebrugge. The results are satisfactory and
similar works are underway for another segment of the coastline. Furthermore the
new situation has contributed to the gradual occlusion of a gully to which
material removed from the beach was carried.
The "soft medicine" to restore ailing beaches should be considered as an
advisable solution for endangered beaches there where economic dictates require
their protection and restoration.