Erosion Remedies 



COASTAL COMMUNITIES STRUGGLE TO SAVE THEIR BEACHES 



by Sarah Friday 



Tony Caudle would just as soon forget last New Year's 

 Eve. 



While most of his friends partied up a storm, the 

 Topsail Beach town manager prepared to fight one. 



The rain, wind and waves from one of the worst 

 northeasters of the decade threatened to wash his 

 beach away. 



And it did. 



Topsail lost up to 60 feet of beach in some areas, and 

 miles of dunes were flattened. 



It was one more blow in the battle with erosion. 



North Carolina's 320 miles of coastline face the prob- 

 lem daily. 



In peril are millions of dollars of beachfront property 

 and the state's coastal economy. Experts disagree on 

 what can be done; some even ask if it's worth it. 



"No matter what we do, it's not a permanent solu- 

 tion," Caudle says. The ocean continues to devour the 

 shoreline like a giant with an insatiable appetite. 



Three years ago, at the recommendation of Sea 

 Grant's coastal engineer and Topsail's mayor, the town 

 built dunes on the lowest end of the island to block the 

 monster's bite. 



The fortress worked during the first big northeaster 

 in December. And just one section gave way Jan. 1. 



Still, $3 million worth of damages trouble the town. 



But Topsail was just one of several beach com- 

 munities that were hard hit by the storm. Damage 

 estimates climbed to $30 million for the North 

 Carolina coast. 



"Long-term erosion is a coastal problem we're going 

 to have to deal with," says Spencer Rogers, Sea Grant's 

 coastal engineer "Erosion is not going to go away. It's 

 not likely to be this bad every year, but it may be 

 worse." 



Tony Caudle 



On the average, North Carolina loses 2 to 3 feet of 

 beach each year. 



If this trend continues, the N.C. Division of Coastal 

 Management estimates 800 buildings will be destroyed 

 or seriously damaged in 10 years. In 50 or 60 yecirs, the 

 number shoots to 4,900. 



"It's something we're worried about constantly," 

 Caudle says. "Before the storms, we had a moderate 

 amount of beach we think the community enjoyed. 



"Spencer (Rogers) says it will come back, that our 

 beach will gradually reproduce itself," he says. "But I'm 

 afraid if it doesn't come back we'll lose a lot of tourism 

 dollars." 



Tourism generates more than $800 million in 

 revenues in the 10 major tourist counties at the coast. 

 New Hanover County alone collected $178 million last 

 year. 



Fishing adds another $200 million. And property 

 owners contribute their own significant sums to the 

 state's economy. 



Continued 



