or seawalls, including adequate flank protection, selecting that plan 
most suitable to the present condition and desired use of their shore frontage 
cqnsistent with the effect on adjacent shore sections. As additional 
protection of publicly owned shores is not warranted at this time, and 
existing Federal law includes no policy for Federal assistance in the 
cost of protecting privately owned shores, The Board recommended no 
Federal participation in the cost of the work. 
The Chief of Engineers concurred in the views and recommendations of 
the Beach Erosion Board. 
LAKE ERIE SHORE OF THE STATE OF OHIO 
The Beach Erosion Board in connection with transmitting the last 
report on the continuing cooperative study of the Lake Erie shore of Ohio 
considered it desirable to summarize the knowledge and conclusions regard- 
ing methods of shore protection in Ohio resulting from this investigation 
from the viewpoint of the entire shore of the tate and on a long range 
basis. 
A typical condition found along the Lake Erie shore of Ohio is an 
eroding bluff of unconsolidated clay, silt, and sand, As the bluff is 
undercut by wave action, or sloughs due to seepage of surface water or 
frost action and falls to the beach, the finer fraction of the material 
is carried into deep water and the coarser fraction remains to form or 
replenish the beach. As the latter material is typically only a small 
proportion of the total volume, the beaches thus formed are narrow and 
provide the bluffs little protection against wave action. 
As indicated in the reports on the several areas, one method of 
protecting the bluffs comprises placement of a non-erodible barrier between 
the waves and the bluff in the form of a seawall, bulkhead, or revetment. 
Such structures cause wave reflections and turbulence. In addition, by 
preventing erosion of the bluffs they reduce the amount of sand available 
for beach building orreplenishment. In the absence of a natural supply 
of beach material, continued erosion may be expected lakeward of the 
structures as well as on the adjacent unprotected shores. Because of 
their high costs, seawalis, bulkheads, and revetments are usually used 
for relatively short frontages, The necessity of flank protection as 
adjacent shores recede increases the cost of protection by structures of 
these types. The continuing lakeward erosion results in steadily increas- 
ing maintenance costs. Initial and annual costs become so high that this 
method can be justified only for property of high valuation. 
The Board has found that wave energy is absorbed more effectively 
by a gently sloping sandy beach than by any other method. With steeper 
slopes, coarser material is required for stability. With large stones 
the wave absorbing structure become a revetment or rubble mound with 
slope approaching 1 vertical to 1 horizontal. 
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