hurricane which passed over the Mississippi coast in September 19U7 

 inflicted remarkably little damage on the sea wall considering the 

 height of the wind tide and the severity of wave action. The wind 

 tide reached a height of about lU feet during this hurricane. 

 (See Biilletin of the Beach Erosion Board, Vol, 2-No. 1, Jan. 19U8). 



Beach erosion control studies by the Corps of Engineers were 

 undertaken in 19liii and again in 19U7 in cooperation with the Harrison 

 County Board of Supervisors. These studies indicated that, after 

 all factors were taken into consideration, a hydraiilic fill placed 

 adjacent to the sea wall, if properly maintained, would be the most 

 suitable means of stopping leakage of sand through the curtain wall 

 and prolonging the life of the concrete stepped-slab, and would in 

 addition pro-vide a recreational facility for the general public. 

 The plan of improvement and protection formulated by these studies 

 was adopted as a Federal project in the 19U8 River and Harbor Act. 

 Elements of improvement and protection incorporated in this project 

 included structural repair of the stepped concrete slab by the 

 pressure concrete or "gunite" method, replacing backfill, construct- 

 ing a sand beach about 2k miles long, 300 feet wide with a berra width 

 of 50 feet at top elevation of 5 feet above mean sea level adjacent 

 to the sea wall, ard reconstructing the drainage system. Design 

 slope from the edge of the berm of the proposed fill outward to the 

 natural bottom of the sound was 1 on $0, The total estimated volume 

 of sand required for the beach was 5*700,000 cubic yards. The drain- 

 age plan included a collecting sewer back of the sea wall, discharging 

 at intervals through relatively few laterals across the beach. All 

 drainage lines were designed to minimize differential settlement and 

 to assure tight joints in the interest of preventing infiltration of 

 sand. Sewer pipes laid across the beach were anchored at their sea- 

 ward ends by means of creosoted timber piling structures. At the 

 larger outfalls, the plans specified that drainage be carried across 

 the beach between two parallel rows of interlocking concrete sheet 

 piles. The original (19U7) estimate for the project, exclusive of 

 the cost of "gunite" and other wall repairs, was $2,038,000, Dredging 

 unit cost was estimated at that time at l5 cents per cubic yard, 

 including items for engineering and contingencies. The Beach Erosion 

 Board recommended the maximum Federal participation in the cost of 

 the project under the policy stated in the so-called "sea-wall proviso" 

 of Public Law 727, 79th Congress, amounting to one-third of the 

 original cost of the wall. The recommended Federal share was there- 

 fore one-third of $3,U00,000, or $1,133,000, 



Assurances that all conditions of local cooperation imposed by 

 the project would be met were approved by the Chief of Engineers on 10 



