Protect the Natural Dune Seawall at Port Aransas, Texas

Come Back to this page for updates   ----   updated 12/13/2007

Texas Coastal Geology

Richard L. Watson, Ph.D., PG
Consulting Geologist

P.O. Box 1040 Port Aransas, TX 78373
361-749-4152 send email

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The City of Port Aransas has applied to the Corps of Engineers for a permit to move sand and seaweed to disposal areas within the dunes and more importantly to move sand from the middle and upper beach to the lower beach.  Moving sand in a seaward direction rather in its natural landward direction ultimately starves the dunes of the sand supply which is necessary for their growth and rebuilding between major storms.  It takes decades for the dunes to regrow what is lost during a major storm.  This permit has no limit on the quantity of sand that the city can move!  

The following link will take you to my letter of objection to many aspects of this permit application.  

Objections to Permit Application for sand movement on Port Aransas Beaches.

The following links will take you to the Permit Application and Plans.

Permit Application

Permit Plans

If you wish to request a public hearing or comment about these plans for beach maintenance on Port Aransas Beaches, your response must be received by the Corps of Engineers by 31 December, 2007.  The address for comments is below.

Matthew Kimmel
Regulatory Branch, CESWG-PE-RCC
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
5151 Flynn Parkway, Suite 306
Corpus Christi, Texas 78411-4318
361-814-5847 Phone
361-814-5912 fax

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July 8, 2007     City Dune Permit Proposal

The following is a discussion about the dune permit that the City is seeking to use the front of the foredune ridge as a permanent rotating temporary storage for seaweed and sand.  This will leave the most important part of the foredune ridge in a permanently weakened state because it will never fully vegetate.  City council will consider this proposed Dune permit on Thursday, July 19, 2007 at the regular council meeting.

Comments on the City of Port Aransas

Seaweed Maintenance Application for Dune Permit and Beachfront Construction Certificate

 By Richard L. Watson, Ph.D.

6/28/2007

 

The City of Port Aransas has a tough problem to solve.  How to get rid of the seaweed on our tourist beaches while not damaging the beach or dune system.  City council created a beach maintenance committee to evaluate beach management practices.  The dune ridges are our ONLY protection from damaging frontal storm surge during hurricanes.  The natural dune seawall must be protected and allowed to grow.

 

All committee meetings were attended by GLO representatives.  In addition the GLO hired a geologist (Kim Mckenna) who used to work for the GLO to serve as an outside expert to help find non-damaging solutions to the problem.  The entire committee as well as the City Manager and City Planner presented unanimous recommendations to be forwarded to the City, the GLO and McKenna.  These recommendations made up the bulk of McKenna’s recommendations and the committee unanimously voted to use her report as the final product of the committee to be presented to the City Council.  This report is included as an attachment.

 Click here to view Kim McKenna's report which is the final product of the Beach Maintenance Committee

One of the recommendations was that the front of the foredune ridge be allowed to grow 20 feet further seaward and that, if possible, seaweed be disposed of behind the dune ridges on GLO property between Lantana and Rd. 1A.  This will require a permit from GLO. 

 

This beach and dune permit which the City may be seeking from the GLO has several recommendations which probably would have been rejected by the beach maintenance committee, had they been able to review it.

 
 

Please refer to the following application for a dune permit.  Look at the colored figure which is the second page.

 Click here to view the City Dune Permit

This permit application calls for excavation of 40 feet of the most seaward part of the dune ridge to be used as a rotating disposal area for seaweed and sand.  After obtaining a Corps of Engineers permit, this sand and decomposed seaweed could then be deposited on be beach below the high tide line or in the edge of the water.

 

Further, the permit application calls for deposition of sand and seaweed from eroding parts of the beach (basically from the Beachwalk development southward) to be deposited only within its own transect in the eroding section of the beach.  However, this permit application also states that sand from accreting areas (Mostly between Lantana and Rd 1A can be deposited within eroding or accreting sections of the beach!  This means that the intent, or at least the possibility, exists to remove sand from the accreting beach/dune system from Lantana to 1A and deposit further to the south in the area where the beaches are eroding.  This is robbing Peter to pay Paul and will reduce the growth of the beaches and the dunes in the accreting area.  The accreting area has most of the developed part of Port Aransas behind it and those dune protect over one billion dollars worth of real estate. 

 

If any sand is moved, it should stay within ¼ mile of where it was deposited and should, if at all possible be moved in the landward direction, so that it can help the dunes to build to give us further protection during hurricanes.

 

Further, the permit application describes the historical dune restoration (red and yellow) in the figure as having been built manually.  I am not sure about the dunes south of Ave G., but the new frontal dune ridge between Lantana was entirely built naturally.  About 10 years ago, the city placed a row of dune protection bollards out 30 or 40 feet from the high dune ridge (which was partially man-made by stacking seaweed and sand).  These bollards were there to keep cars and scrapers out, so that the vegetation could advance and build a new dune ridge.  It has built a beautiful new and natural dune ridge.  It would have built naturally in the absence of the bollards, if cars and scrapers would have stayed out.  South from G to 1A, I believe that most of that same new ridge also built naturally from forward growth of vegetation and wind-blown sand as well, but there was some seaweed placed there.  In short, this is really not just a Beach Maintenance Storage Area as suggested by the dune permit application.  It was built naturally after a late 90s City Council had the bollards installed.  It serves as an important part of our protection from storm surge.

 

Last week, the city dumped seaweed and sand in the low between this frontal ridge and the higher ridge behind it because there are few disposal areas that can now be used.  This is the first seaweed or sand dumped there by the city north of Ave. G.  This will do no harm and will end up being a beautiful foredune ridge and further strengthen our storm defense.

 

 

Beach Maintenance Storage Areas

 

Use of the front of the dune ridge as a Beach Maintenance Storage Area is a terrible idea.

It will be permanently ugly as it will not vegetate in.  It will permanently weaken the most important part of the foredune ridge system.  Natural foredune ridge systems have a gently sloping front which becomes well vegetated.  The root systems of the grasses and other plants hold it together and retard erosion, especially during smaller storms.  This protects the main dune ridges from storm attack.  When the dune ridges are eroded, the erode by wave attack at the base, and collapse vertically, like a cliff.  Permanently weakening the base of the dune ridge and not allowing it to vegetate in is a great mistake and weakens the entire foredune system.

  

What  Can  We  Do?

 

One of the recommendations in Kim McKenna’s report and by the beach committee was to dispose of this material behind the main dune ridge in the strip of GLO land between the beach and private land from Lantana to 1A.  The GLO is probably amenable to this.

 

This material will ultimately end up as a well vegetated dune ridge giving us further lines of dunes behind the main dune ridge for storm protection.  If this area is entered from Lantana, Avenue G, and private beach access roads (on GLO land), the damage to the foredune ridge will be minimal and temporary. 

 

Conclusions

 

1.  Any sand removed from any part of a transect should be kept in the same area and should NOT be transported south to the eroding beaches. 

2.  If at all possible, sand should only be transported in a landward direction, toward or into the dunes.  This is its natural direction of transport.  Moving it seaward starves the dunes of sand which would normally help build them.

3.  The front of the dunes, whether man-made, or natural should not be excavated to provide temporary storage areas for seaweed and sand as this permanently weakens the critical frontal side of the natural dune seawall.

4 .  Even though this City Council may have the best of intentions and maintain our beach and dune system in a non-destructive fashion, thispermit opens the door for future councils to do great damage with the permissions that will be granted. 

  

 

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The City Council of the City of Port Aransas appointed a committee to study beach maintenance practices and to recommend any changes and improvements.  The committee was composed of Scott Holt, Chairman, Noyes Livingston, Vice Chairman, Jim Freeman, Murray Judson, Tony Amos, and Richard Watson as a non-voting ex-officio member. City staff participated and were very helpful in all meetings.  City staff included, City Manager Michael Kovacs, Planner David Parsons, Crockett Moreno of public works and Judy Lyle from Finance. All meetings were attended by members of the Texas General Land Office (GLO).  The GLO hired Kimberly McKenna, a coastal geologist who used to work for the GLO to study to work with the GLO, the City, and the Committee to evaluate the committee recommendations, to evaluate local, state and federal law pertaining to beach maintenance, and to make recommendations to the GLO and to the City about our future beach maintenance.   The culmination of the work by the beach committee and City staff was a compilation of suggestions by individual members of the committee and the staff.  It can be viewed at the second link below.  Ms. McKenna's report is available at the first link below.  It is a well done and comprehensive report covering all aspects of the beach maintenance and dune protection problem.

Click here to read Ms. McKenna's report titled

Strategies for Managing Sediment on Public Beaches City of Port Aransas, Texas

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Click here to read the compilation of suggestions by the individual members of the beach committee and by City staff.

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Letter to the editor of CC Caller-Times by Alan McNeil of Beaumont 3/7/06

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Click here to read a column titled Port A beach dilemma rages on by David Sikes, Corpus Christi Caller-Times Outdoor Writer, 3/2/06

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Click here to read a letter from Dr. Richard A. Davis (over 40 years as a Coastal Geologist) to the Port Aransas City Council, Feb, 2006


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February 23, 2006
Heavy equipment operated by the City of Port Aransas has moved hundreds of dump trucks of dune quality sand from the beach road on the left side of the posts.  They are now removing sand from the seaward side of the posts and transporting it down to near the water. This sand is no obstacle to traffic on the beach because cars are NOT ALLOWED to drive on the beach on the seaward side of the line of posts shown in these photos.  This sand should be allowed to continue its natural migration to the dunes where it will strengthen our Natural Dune Seawall, if we will only allow that to happen.








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Email just in from a long time Port Aransas resident who was here for Hurricane Carla.

In 1960, before hurricane Carla, the Port Aransas dunes extended much
closer to the waters edge.  The old Dunes resturant between Lantana and
Beach was surrounded by high dunes. The entire beach was much narrower.
 In that storm most of the Island was covered with water from the bay
and water from the gulf side scowered out the dunes leaving a much wider
beach.  Wetting down the driving area is lot better than scraping it
out.  I think we need all the dune protection we can get.  Thank you for
all you are trying to do to keep the city from removing sand from the
beach. Keep up the good work.

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This photo taken on 2/8/2006 shows the pure dune quality sand being removed.  That sand was on its way to build our foredune ridge stronger, higher and wider.  We really should not be throwing our hurricane overwash protection away.  Port Aransas is rejecting the natural processes which build our natural dune seawall ridge higher and wider. This photo is just south of Island Retreat Condominiums.

The following two photos were taken on 2/3/2006.  Note that the City beach maintenace has scraped the sand away from the base of the foredunes right up to the posts placed about 8 years ago.  This has cut into dune vegetation and the roots are showing.  Removal of this sand which was rapidly migrating up onto the most seaward dune ridge is preventing the growth of our Natural Dune Seawall and reducing the protection possible against future hurricanes.




Note the post in the foreground of this photo.  The dune vegetation has been cut by City maintenance and a cliff of raw sand left along the post line.  The sand that was removed can not now migrate into and grow our foredune ridge.  This photo was taken 2/3/2006.


Excerpts from the GLO Dune Protection and Improvement Manual for the Texas Gulf Coast with comments by Richard L. Watson, Ph.D.

Click here to download a powerpoint presentation titled  "Protect the Natural Dune Seawall: Our First Line of Defense Against Hurricanes   (long file 13MB)

Click here to read the new article in Port Aransas South Jetty newspaper titled  "Beach Maintenance Policy Underway"

You can read 

"Protect the Natural Dune Seawall and Prevent Hurricane Destruction at Port Aransas, Texas," here  

http://TexasCoastGeology.com/beach.pdf   .  It is a large file, so give it time to load

Caller-Times article on 11/22/2005

Statement to Port Aransas City Council by Richard L. Watson, Ph.D. on 11/21/2005

Group will weigh beach access, need to replenish dunes

By Jaime Powell Caller-Times

November 11, 2005

Click here for a 11/08/05 letter from Eddie Fisher, Director of Coastal Stewardship, Texas General Land Office and my reply

Click here for a new Forum article in the Caller-Times, titled "We must protect, not destroy, our natural seawall

Click on this link to see how Port Aransas is violating both the State Regulations and its own Port Aransas Coastal Management Plan

Dr. Robert A. Morton who was the lead State coastal geologist for nearly 30 years writes about protection of the dunes and recovery of beaches after storms.

"Foredunes are the last line of defense against wave attack, and thus afford considerable protection against hurricane surge and washover.  Dunes also serve as a reserve of sediment from which the beach can recover after a storm.  Sand removed from the dunes and beach, transported offshore and returned to the beach as previously described provides the material from which coppice mounds and eventually the foredunes rebuild.  Thus, dune removal eliminates sediment reserve, as well as the natural defense mechanism established for beach protection.  

Whether or not the beach returns to its prestorm position depends primarily on the amount of sand available.  The beach readjusts to normal prestorm conditions much more rapidly than does the vegetation line.  Generally speaking, the sequence of events is as follows: (1) return of sand to the beach and profile adjustment (accretion); (2) development of low sand mounds (coppice mounds) seaward of the foredunes or vegetation line; (3) merging of coppice mounds with foredunes; and (4) migration of the vegetation line to the prestorm position.  The first step is initiated within days after passage of the storm and adjustment is usually attained within several weeks or a few months.  The remaining steps require months or possibly years and, in some instances, complete recovery is never attained." (from Shoreline Changes on Mustang Island and North Padre Island....., Morton and Pieper, 1977, Bureau of Economic Geology GC 77-1.)  Dr. Morton was the lead coastal geologist for the state of Texas  from the 1970s until nearly 2000 when he left to work for the U.S. Geological Survey.  I am sure that Dr. Morton would be shocked to discover that the City of Port Aransas is trucking vast quantities of sand from the upper beach and depositing it in the surf.  That sand was en route to enhancing the storage of sand in our dune system.

The City of Port Aransas is continuing to truck huge quantities of dune quality sand from the upper beach directly adjacent to the foredune ridge to the surf.  I have just sent the following letter to Mr. Eddie Fisher, the Director of Coastal  at the Texas General Land Office (GLO).

 Click on this link to read the  October 30, 2005 letter to Mr. Fisher.

Today on 10/27/2005, the City of Port Aransas is trucking huge amounts of dune sand from the upper beach and placing it in the surf.  This is contrary to Texas Administrative Code which states: "All sand moved or redistributed due to beach maintenance activites shall be returned to the area between the line of vegetation and mean high tide."  This does NOT mean putting the sand back in the edge of the water!  

Click here to see photos of this operation.

Vegetated Coppice Dune on the Upper Beach, Mustang Island, Texas

Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and now Wilma are a tremendous threat to the Gulf Coast.  We have seen the incredible destruction of these large storms with whole towns literally wiped off of the face of the earth.  In Mississippi, Waveland is gone, Gulfport is heavily damaged and Biloxi is heavily damaged with houses over 150 years old gone.

You can read "Protect the Natural Dune Seawall and Prevent Hurricane Destruction at Port Aransas, Texas," here  http://TexasCoastGeology.com/beach.pdf   .  It is a large file, so give it time to load.  

Click hear to read the letter from Eddie Fisher (GLO) about my Natural Dune Seawall Paper  and my response in blue.

The next two photos show  Holly Beach, Louisiana before and after Rita.  Holly beach is on the Gulf between Sabine Pass, Texas and  Cameron, Louisiana.

      


Holly Beach had no natural dune seawall and it was completely destroyed by Hurricane Rita.


Surfside, Texas was also severely eroded in Rita, even though Surfside was far to the west of where Rita went ashore.  Surfside was on the 'gentle" side of the storm with offshore, rather than onshore winds.   Here is a photo of  Surfside before the storm  and some photos after Rita. Surfside also had no natural dune seawall.





Here in Port Aransas, we are very fortunate to be protected by a high and wide band of well vegetated dunes which serve as our natural dune seawall. However, if you read   "Protect the Natural Dune Seawall and Prevent Hurricane Destruction at Port Aransas, Texas," you will see that our beach maintenance practices are threatening the future integrity of our natural dune seawall.  In addition, our present beach maintenance is preventing the natural dune seawall from continuing to grow to its natural width and height.  All sand that is stored in the dunes on the upper beach and in the foredune ridges must be eroded by a storm before the storm can overwash and destroy the town from the Gulf.  Katrina and Rita have emphasized that we need that protection.

I have distributed "Protect the Natural Dune Seawall and Prevent Hurricane Destruction at Port Aransas, Texas," widely in Port Aransas, Nueces County and Austin.  Eddie R Fisher, Director of Coastal Stewardship  from the General Land Office (GLO) responded.  I have inserted my comments in blue within the original GLO response.  

Click hear to read the letter from Eddie Fisher (GLO)  and my response in blue.


Effect of Hurricane Carla at Port Aransas in 1961

The following illustrations are taken from Hurricanes as Geological Agents: Case Studies of Hurricanes Carla, 1961, and Cindy, 1963 by Miles O. Hayes, University of Texas Bureau of Economic Geology, Report of Investigations no. 61.

This first figure shows the wind field of Hurricane Carla.  Note that the hurricane force winds extended nearly the entire length of the Texas coast and inland almost to Austin.  Port Aransas sustained winds in excess of 100 mph even though Port Aransas is located far to the west of the landfall near Port O'Connor.  Carla was a large diameter, very powerful hurricane.





This illustration shows the distribution of the height of the water level, the hurricane surge from Carla.  It is interesting to note that his huge storm had only about a maximum 12 ft. surge on the open Gulf beaches.  The surge in the bay at Port O'Connor was at least 22 ft., 10 ft. higher than on the adjacent Gulf beaches.  This is because the storm filled the bay with water and then blew all of that water to the downwind side of the bay.  The hurricane surge is generally HIGHER in bays than on the open Gulf beaches.  We need for our natural dune seawall to be high enough and wide enough to protect us from hurricane surge overwash from the Gulf.  Even though we may still be flooded by water from the bay side of the island, there will be much less damage than if we are overwashed with direct Gulf surge topped by hurricane waves.




This photograph dramatically shows the massive erosion of the dunes on Mustang Island by Carla.  The sand that those dunes gave up helped to protect the town and bought time for the storm to pass.  The dunes have since rebuilt in the interim before the next bad storm.





Pertinent Sections of the Texas Administrative Code (State Law)

Texas Administrative Code  --  Local Government Management of the Public Beach (Part 1)
(State Regulations Controlling Beach Maintenance)


Texas Administrative Code -- Local Government Management of the Public Beach (Part II)
(This part contains the rules for maintaining the public beach, excerpted below)



Excerpt from Title 31, Part 1, Chapter 15, Subchapter A, Rule 15.7 section (l)

Maintaining the Public Beach

(l) Maintaining the public beach. Local governments shall prohibit beach maintenance activities unless maintenance activities will not materially weaken dunes or dune vegetation or reduce the protective functions of dunes. Local governments shall prohibit beach maintenance activities which will result in the significant redistribution of sand or which will significantly alter the beach profile or the line of vegetation. All sand moved or redistributed due to beach maintenance activities shall be returned to the area between the line of vegetation and mean high tide. The General Land Office encourages the removal of litter and other debris by handpicking or raking and strongly discourages the use of machines (except during peak visitation periods which disturb the natural balance of gains and losses in the sand budget and the natural cycle of nutrients.

Note that the regulation states that  "All sand moved or redistributed due to beach maintenance activites shall be returned to the area between the line of vegetation and mean high tide."  This does NOT mean putting the sand back in the edge of the water!

The purpose of this regulation is to ensure the maximum growth or re-growth of the dunes and the sand storage in the upper beach an dunes for protection from the next hurricane, whenever it may come.  When sand is placed back in the water, surf currents will carry it away to the north or to the south.  It is likely lost to the section of beach from which it was removed.


Texas Hurricanes from 1912-1978 Affecting the Corpus Christi Area





Hurricane Celia (1970) Flood Map for Port Aransas

(Dark Blue Shows Hurricane Flooding, Light Blue is Normal Water Level)



The following photo shows the repairs to the island road in the vicinity of Corpus Christi Pass after Hurricane Celia.  The road was cut at the bridges for quite a while after the storm.  This kind of damage occurs where there is no natural dune seawall to prevent overwash.






The following hurricane flood maps are from U.S. Army Corps of Engineers publications

Hurricane Beulah (1967) flood map for Port Aransas

(Dark Blue Shows Hurricane Flooding, Light Blue is Normal Water Level)



The following two photographs show how Hurricane Beulah opened Corpus Christi Pass.  Note the highway bridge on the island road out in the middle.  This is far less likely to happen where there is a strong natural dune seawall.  Please excuse the condition of some of these old photos. They have survived several hurricanes.






Hurricane Carla (1961) flood map for Port Aransas

(Orange Shows Hurricane Flooding, Light Blue is Normal Water Level)




Hurricane Allen, 1980


Hurricane Allen has 8.9 feet of surge flooding on the beach at Port Aransas.  However, the Corps of Engineers did not produce any high resolution surge flood maps in their Allen publication.  While Allen had a significant surge, it did not overtop the dunes.  Allen did however significantly damage the island road down in the area of the bridges where there was little or no dune ridge for protection at Corpus Christi Pass and Newport Pass.  The following photo shows the island road destroyed by Allen.  This is what can happen where there is no natural dune seawall.