the Saco River south jetty is a practicable method of restoring and 
protecting Hills Beach, and that an alternative method of protecting 
individual properties consists of constructing stone revetments in front 
of existing seawalls or bluffs. The Division Engineer and Beach Erosion 
Board found that due to the private ownership of the shore and lack of 
public benefits, Hills Beach is not eligible for Federal assistance in con- 
struction of protective works. However, the Division Engineer indicated 
that placement of suitable sandy spoil on the beach may be possible in 
connection with future maintenance of Federal navigation projects for 
Saco River and The Pool at Biddeford. They recommended that no project be 
adopted at this time by the United States for the protection of the shore 
of Hills Beach, They further recommended that protective measures which 
may be undertaken by local interests, based upon their own determination 
of economic justification, by accomplished in accordance with plans and 
methods considered in this report. Local interests stated an opinion that 
the United States is responsible for a substantial portion of the erosion 
which has occurred at Hills Beach, especially since 1954, as a result of 
failure to maintain the existing south jetty at the entrance to Saco River, 
and also that the United States should undertake restoration of the jetty 
to its as-built condition and replacement of that amount of shore material 
determined to have been eroded as a result of the failure to maintain the 
south jetty, at no cost to local interests. The Beach Erosion Board be- 
lieved that the study did not establish that the recent erosion of Hills 
Beach can be attributed to deterioration or lack of maintenance of the 
south jetty. It also believed that the United States has neither obli- 
gation nor authority to maintain the existing Saco River south jetty, 
except in the interest of navigation. The Board stated that in any event 
restoration of the jetty to its as-built elevation (5.5 feet above mean 
low water as far as can be determined from available records) would result 
in only minor accretion to the adjacent shore to the south and would thus 
not solve the Hills Beach erosion problem, The Board does not favor piece- 
meal protection of separate frontages by individual owners, but concurred 
in the plan for beach fill and jetty raising as the most suitable plan of 
restoring and protecting the entire beach. The Chief of Engineers con- 
curred in the views and recommendations of the Beach Erosion Board, 
SAN GABRIEL RIVER _TO NEWPORT BAY, ORANGE COUNTY, CALIFORNIA 
The purposes of the investigation were to determine the causes and 
most effective and economical methods of controlling erosion of the shore, 
and the extent of Federal aid which should be granted to the Anaheim Bay 
area in equity without regard to limitations of Federal law applicable to 
beach erosion control. Orange County is in Southern California immediately 
south of Los Angeles County. Its Pacific Ocean shore line, extending in a 
general northwest-southeast direction, is about 42 miles long, the portion 
of which covered by this report being about 17 miles long from the mouth 
of San Gabriel River to the entrance to Newport Bay. The coastal area 
88 
