VIRGINIA BEACH, VIRGINIA 



Virginia Beach is located on the east coast of Virginia about 19 

 miles east of Norfolk and 3»5 miles south of Cape Henry, which is the 

 south point of the entrance to Chesapeake Bay, The shore frontage of the 

 city is 3-1/3 mi].es long. The city is extensively developed as a resi- 

 dential and resort area. It has a permanent population of 5>300 and a 

 maximum summer population of about itJ^OOO, A combined concrete promenade 

 and light seawall 1,93 miles long built in 192? is owned by the city. 

 The shore frontage is owned principally by the city. The United States 

 owns a frontage of 205 feet, the site of a Coast Guard Station, The 

 remainder, less than 5 percent is privately owned. 



The tides in the ocean at Virginia Beach are semi-diurnal, the mean 

 range being 3 feet and the spring range 3»6 feet. The maximum storm 

 tide of record was about 7 feet above mean high water, but tides greater 

 than 3 feet abcve mean high water are infrequent. Statistical data on 

 ocean swells off Virginia Beach indicate that the predominant direction 

 of high swells is from the northeast and east. Refraction effects of 

 the offshore bottom and effects of the tidal currents due to the proximity 

 of the entrance to Chesapeake Bay influence the wave pattern, so that the 

 littoral characteristics cannot be determined from existing data. There 

 is evidence of seasonal reversals in direction of drift, but no evidence 

 that there is a predominant drift of appreciable Volume in either direction. 

 The beach is composed of medium sand and the offshore bottom of fine sand. 

 The effect of major storms appears to be a temporary shifting of foreshore 

 material to the offshore area. The required protection to the seawall and 

 upland can be provided by a beach of sufficient height and width so that 

 it will not be entirely removed during one storm period. Shore line re- 

 cession during the 192? and 19i;8 storms indicates that an artificially 

 placed beach of suitable material with a minimum berm width of 100 feet 

 at an elevation of 7 feet above mean low water would be satisfactory for 

 this purpose. Material is restored to the foreshore during the adjustment 

 period following such storms, but presumably part of the material is not 

 returned and consequently the shore line gradually recedes. The low rate 

 of loss indicates that a restored beach may be economically maintained by- 

 artificial replenishment as needed. As available data are inadequate to 

 determine whether groins would effect lower annual costs, it is advisable 

 to include them in the plan of protection for deferred construction if 

 needed. 



The district engineer developed a plan for protecting and improving 

 the shores, and made an economic analysis of proposed protective measures. 

 He found that the benefits from prevention of damages, increased earning 

 power of land and property, and recreational benefits of the proposed work 

 warrant the adoption of the project of protection and improvement. He con- 

 cluded that the public interest therein warrants Federal participation to 

 the maximum extent permissible under the policy established by Public 

 Law 727, 79th Congress, 



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