The beginning of the Outer Banks intra-local beach nourishment project. Duck, spring 2017.Intra-Local Effort Recognized for Multiple Community Benefits
What does a couple of years of planning and $38.5 million earn? When it comes to beach nourishment, recognition as one of the best projects in the nation.
The American Shore and Beach Preservation Association (ASBPA) which is a trade organization for companies engaged in nourishment, recognized the Intra-local project, taking note especially that it took a couple of years to move the project forward and that multiple towns and jurisdictions worked together.
"The take-home message for these projects is a multi-town beach nourishment project can be successful even when the odds seem to be against you," Lee Weishar, chair of the association's Best Restored Beach Committee, said.
The initial observation is that the project, that included the towns of Duck, Southern Shores, Kitty Hawk and Kill Devil Hills, performs as advertised. Although there were a number of significant storm events over the fall and winter of this past year, overwash and flooding was minimal with no reported infrastructure damage.
For a town like Kitty Hawk that is remarkable. The town's beaches in particular suffered significant loss of sand and even storms that were not particularly strong caused widespread road closures as waves overtopped the dunes.
The ASBPA ranks nourishment projects on three criteria:
- The economic and ecological benefits the beach brings to its community;
- The short and long-term success of the restoration project; and
- The challenges each community overcame during the course of the project.
The funding for the project was an innovative combination of local and Dare County money. Contributions from the towns were significant, but the lion's share came from County coffers.
"Dare County is committed to preserving our beaches," county board chairman Bob Woodard told the Outer Banks Voice."They are the engine that drives our tourism economy and they require ongoing attention."
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