Beach nourishment: The addition of artificial sand to local coastlines to prevent coastal erosion. What are the necessary conditions for any possible solution to work?
Are there budget or labor concerns?
Does the public need to be aware of and support the solution?
What challenges are there to implementing each solution?
How else might you judge possible solutions against each other?
What do your parents/others in the community say about the issue?
Should possible externalities factor into the chosen solution?
1. There is a necessary tax that must be imposed on citizens as processes such as beach nourishment and seawalls are expensive affairs. For beach nourishment it is vital that the grains of sand deposited on the beach are compatible to the native sand found on the beach. For breakwaters and seawalls there needs to be a minimum amount of space in order to slow down the waves approaching shore.
2. Beach nourishment is a repetitive process and requires periodic trials of additional material, the cost of revitalizing these coastlines rises high into the millions.In addition to money concerns, the large scale project requires many workers as well as significant time. Breakwaters as well as sea walls are costly and time consuming projects as well, however both are more permanent than beach nourishment- and are relatively permanent.
3) The public needs to be aware of this situation because in the local community the coastline is an extremely popular tourist destination, it is also important that they support the cause (Taxes are usually imposed for our beach care). As for breakwaters and seawalls they also require funding, for the seawalls we have the ticket entry price for the beach was increased so that they could fund the project.
4) The issue with beach nourishment is that it is not a permanent solution to the issue of coastal erosion, it is effective but costly- and requires periodic trials of materials to be added to the existing ones.
Breakwaters disrupt the natural wave pattern as well as habitats for many water dwelling creatures- they inhibit some from reaching shore. Breakwaters are also very unappealing to look at therefore decreasing tourism.
Seawalls are also very unattractive, they can pose a safety hazard for people who don't see them when walking, they are also very prone to breakage as they are exposed to citizens as well as waves when they reach their final point along the shore.
5) Beach nourishment is the most effective way to maintain the natural landscape (and aesthetic appeal) of the beach, this brings in tourism while still lessening the effects of erosion. Breakwaters bring down tourism when it comes to surfers as well, the man-made structures disrupt waves and provide a wake free zone that inhibits surfing-thus bringing down tourism.
Seawalls are very susceptible to corroding away, when rough waves hit the wall -they create a hole of sediment in the sea's floor, in time it will cave the seawall inward.
6) Coastal erosion has become an issue in our local community, over the years of going to Honeymoon island I have seen attempts at stopping it- large sandbags against the shore (which used to be parking lot but was eroded away), we've seen buildings destroyed that were once far from the water. The community knows that the issue needs to be put under control, it is affecting not only the environment but accessibility to the beach.
7) Possible jobs could result from this project, production of artificial sand in factories, however there is also the unintended affect of the disturbance of indigenous animals.
In addition to this- breakwaters and seawalls are very costly, they increase taxes on homeowners and could cause some people to lose their homes.
Beach Nourishment
Breakwater
Seawall
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