The study area is located in New Hanover County and comprises a 7- 

 mile length of shore located about 15 miles south-southeast of Wilmington, 

 North Carolina. The study area includes the Towns of Carolina Beach and 

 Kure Beach and the unincorporated communities of Wilmington and Hanby 

 Beaches. These communities comprise an important summer recreational area. 

 The permanent population of New Hanover County, which includes the City 

 of Wilmington, was over 71,000, according to the 1960 census. The summer 

 population is increased by thousands of vacationists. Of the total shore 

 frontage of 25,800 feet considered for protection, frontages about 1,200 

 feet in Carolina Beach and 1,900 feet in Kure Beach are publicly owned. 

 The northern portion of the coastal area under study is a narrow barrier 

 beach separating Myrtle Sound from the Atlantic Ocean. The remainder 

 consists of a section of the peninsula mainland lying between Cape Fear 

 River and the ocean. The shore of the study area is exposed to ocean waves 

 with unlimited fetch. The predominance of wave energy components is from 

 the northeast quadrant and produces a dominant southward littoral trans- 

 port. The estimated annual deficiency in supply of material in the zone 

 between the dune line and the 24-foot depth contour from 1938 to 1957 for 

 the 5-mile reach including Carolina Beach and Kure Beach averaged about 

 79,000 cubic yards or about 3 cubic yards per linear foot of shore in the 

 study area. The ocean mean tidal range is 4.2 feet. The highest ocean 

 level of record, about 10.5 feet above mean sea level, occurred during 

 hurricane "Hazel" in 1954. Two inlets into Myrtle Sound are located re- 

 spectively 3 and 3.5 miles north of Carolina Beach. The more southerly 

 one was artificially opened by local interests in 1952. The other inlet 

 was opened by wave action during hurricane "Hazel" in 1954. No works have 

 been provided to stabilize these inlets. 



The District Engineer developed plans for protecting the shore of the 

 study area against both erosion and hurricane damages, and concluded that 

 the best protection against hurricane damage, commensurate with costs, 

 comprises a dune with a crown width of 25 feet at an elevation of 15 feet 

 above mean low water, a beach berm 50 feet wide at an elevation of 12 feet 

 above mean low water, a feeder beach north of Carolina Beach and periodic 

 nourishment as required. An alternative plan for shore protection alone, 

 consisting of a beach fill to provide a berm 100 feet wide at an elevation 

 of 8 feet above mean low water, a feeder beach and periodic nourishment, 

 was also developed. 



The District and Division Engineers made economic analyses of the 

 foregoing plans of shore and hurricane protection for the entire study 

 area (Carolina Beach to Kure Beach, inclusive), and separately for Carolina 

 Beach only. They concluded that the dual-purpose plan of protection is 

 amply justified by evaluated benefits. They found that public benefits 

 justify Federal aid to first and periodic nourishment costs for shore pro- 

 tection under the provisions of Public Law 826, 84th Congress, and that 

 prospective benefits justify Federal aid to hurricane protection under the 

 policy established by previous authorizations of hurricane protection 

 projects. Accordingly they recommended adoption of a dual-purpose Federal 



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