between Race Point and Little Gull Island probably have little effect 

 on the shores of the study area because of the shelter afforded by 

 Fishers Island. The waves of primary importance are those generated 

 in the sound. Ordinary short storm waves cause littoral movement and 

 loss of beach material to the offshore zone. The influence of swells 

 is probably sufficient to cause only minor return of material from off- 

 shore by wave action. There appears to be little predominance in the 

 direction of littoral transport, except that it is away from projecting 

 points and northward along shores oriented generally in a north and 

 south direction. The study area is characterized by rocky headlands 

 and headlands of unconsolidated glacial material. In a few localities 

 wave-built bars or spits have been formed. The headlands formerly 

 supplied material to the intervening beaches, but are now generally 

 eroded to bed rock or otherwise protected. The supply of material has 

 thus been reduced or eliminated and consequently the beaches have slowly 

 deteriorated. Groins have been found to be capable of causing minor 

 accretion areas and stabilizing a narrcw bank along the upper portion 

 of the beach in some sections, but the natural supply of material is 

 insufficient for the formation of adequate protective beaches by groins 

 alone. The building £ind maintenance of adequate beaches may be accom- 

 plished by artificial placement of sand. The rat« of loss of fill can 

 be reduced by groins. 



The division engineer and the Beach Erosion Board concluded that 

 practicable plans which merit consideration for the protection and 

 improvement of beaches within the study area are as follows: 



a. West Shv^xe of New London Harbor, New London . Construction 

 of an impermeable groin. 



b. Neptune Park and Ocean Beach, New London . Widening to a 

 125-foot width by direct placement of sand fill, 800 feet of beach in 

 front of the existing seawalls at Neptune Park, the width to diminish 

 southward along the north end of Ocean Beach, 



c. Goshen Cove Inlet, Water ford . Jeti,j.c» oa. a culvert to 

 maintain flow into the cove, and revetment of the banks of the inlet 

 channel. 



The division engineer and the Beach Erosion Board found that pro- 

 tection and improvement of the shore at Neptune Park and Ocean Beach is 

 not justified by evaluated benefits and further found other projects 

 considered were ineligible for Federal assistance. They recommended 

 no project be adopted by the United States for protection of the shores 

 of the study area, but that protective measures which may be undertaken 

 by local interests, based on their own determination of economic justi- 

 fication, be accomplished in accordance with the methods proposed in 

 this report. The Chief of Engineers concurred in the views and recom- 

 mendations of the Beach Erosion Board. 



32 



