124 



looked at solely from the point of view of pollution treatment, or lake 

 currents, or levels, or agricultural production in the basin, or shoreline 

 erosion, or any one of many other important interrelated factors. 



Any overall solution to the problems of Lake Erie must be set in the 

 context of the total environment aspirations of the people of this region 

 tempered by a reliable understanding of alternative choice patterns. 

 By "total environment" I mean placing man in the center and includ- 

 ing presei^ation and enhancement of all of those market and non- 

 market values which man needs to grow in both body and in spirit. 



The corps has an interest in offshore construction because some of 

 this construction is accomplished by the corps, because offshore con- 

 struction by others is subject to the corps permit authority, and finally 

 because offshore construction may affect bottom and shore conditions. 



The Waterways Experiment Station is currently making an inten- 

 sive state-of-the-art survey of submarine soil mechanics so as to remain 

 abreast in this growing field. The Coastal Engineering Research 

 Center is studying a program to define engineering problems involved 

 in offshore construction. 



The next two slides show Seaside Park, Conn., before and after a 

 beach restoration project. 



(Slides shown.) 



Shore protection lessons learned in 40 years of construction experi- 

 ence and research are incorporated in numerous technical publications 

 by the Coastal Engineering Research Center. These publications enjoy 

 national and international acceptance. Some general conclusions are 

 that such traditional solutions as seawalls may protect shorefront 

 structures, but they result in accelerated erosion of the beaches; that 

 groins may protect a short stretch of beach at the cost of accelerated 

 erosion of a downdrift beach ; and that probably the best solution for 

 protecting eroding beaches is to nourish them artificially with sand 

 while at the same time using vegetation and snow-fences to trap wind- 

 borne sand, thereby creating protective dunes. 



This slide shows such a dune at Wrightsville Beach, N.C. (Slide 

 shown.) This slide shows a fixed dredge bypassing sand across Lake 

 Worth Inlet, Fla. (Slide shown.) This process prevents loss of sand 

 out into deep water and shoaling in the inlet and it insures nourishment 

 of the downdrift beach. The corps is now conducting an inventory of 

 offshore sand deposits with the idea that this sand may be used for 

 beach nourishment. 



The corps is now determining the methodology to be used for a 

 national inventory of our shorelines. The National Shoreline Study, 

 directed by Congress, will be the first comprehensive examination of 

 the condition of our 90,000 mile shortline. It will be the basis for pro- 

 grams to protect those portions that are in the most urgent need of 

 such protection. 



The corps' efforts in hurricane flood protection are hindered by the 

 massive costs associated with flood protection structures. Storm surges 

 that may range up to 20 feet above normal high water, as in Camille, 

 require high dikes along the coasts and on the banks of tidal water- 

 ways. 



In some cases, as in Providence, R.I., and New Bedford, Mass., it 

 has been feasible to build coastal structures across the tidal waterways. 



This is Providence, during the 1938 hurricane which killed 250 peo- 



