BEACH EROSION STUDIES 



Beach erosion control studies of specific localities are usually 

 made by the Corps of Engineers in cooperation with appropriate agencies 

 of the various States by authority of Section 2 of the River and Harbor 

 Act approved 3 July 1930. By executive ruling the costs of these 

 studies are divided equally between the United States and the coopera- 

 ting agencies. Information concerning the initiation of a cooperative 

 study may be Obtained from any District or Division Engineer of the 

 Corps of Engineers. After a report on a cooperative study has been 

 transmitted to Congress, a summary thereof is included in the next 

 issue of this Bulletin. Summaries of reports transmitted to Congress 

 since the last issue of the Bulletin and lists of completed and 

 authorized cooperative studies follow. 



SUMMARIES OF REPORTS TRANSMITTED TO CONGRESS 



SACO. MAINE 



The city of Saco is located near the northeast corner of York 

 County, about 16 miles southwest of Portland, along the southerly 

 portion of Saco Bay. Saco Bay, located in the southwesterly portion 

 of the Gulf of Maine, is about 7 miles in length and has a maximum 

 width of 3 miles. It lies between protruding rocky headlands of Prouts 

 Neck on the north and Fletcher Neck south of the jettied mouth of Saco 

 River, The jetties at the mouth of Saco River are part of an inactive 

 Federal navigation project. There are four islands and numerous rocky 

 shoals in the near offshore area of Saco Bay. 



The study area comprises the southerly 2.5 miles of the shore 

 of Saco Bay, extending in a general southerly direction from Goosefare 

 Creek to the jettied mouth of Saco River. The city of Biddeford 

 occupies the adjacent area to the south and the towns of Old Orchard 

 Beach and Scarboro that to the north. The city of Saco has a summer 

 population of approximately 12,000 and about 10,000 permanent residents, 

 A dune area begins about 2,000 feet north of Saco River eind extends 

 thence northward to Goosefare Creek. The crests of the dunes backing 

 the beach are at elevations of 19 to 22 feet above mean low water. 

 A storm scarp ranging from about 2 to 6 feet in height exists along 

 the face of the dunes. In the southerly 2,000-foot section of the 

 study cirea adjacent to the Saco River north jetty, city streets are 

 located on the crest of the beach juid are within range of wave uprush 

 during storms. In the 700-foot reach of this section along Surf 

 Street, the shore has receded to the revetted embankment, and the 

 beach is used without restriction as a public beach. However, the 

 only sections of shore under public control within the city of Saco 

 are street ends comprising about 10% of the shore frontage, for which 

 the city has easements. 



The principal problem has been erosion of the shore throughout 



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