EM 1110-2-1100 (Part V)
31 Jul 2003
application is required to meet the needs of all three levels of government review of the proposed
project.
Some states (North Carolina, Maine) have passed laws banning the use of armored structures
(seawalls, bulkheads, revetments) and shore protection on their ocean coasts. South Carolina only
bans armored structures and other coastal states are considering similar laws. Florida and California
have adopted sand mitigation policies and procedures to permit seawall construction but require the
annual placement of sand to compensate for that trapped behind the structure. Further details on
seawall and beach interactions are summarized in Part V-3-2.
Laws for property boundaries at the land-water interface are complex and vary from state to state.
A 26-article series entitled "The Law of the Sea in a Clamshell" explaining the applicability and
diversity of laws pertaining to the shore has been published by the American Shore and Beach
Preservation Association in the magazine Shore and Beach (Graber 1980). Clear and legally
defendable knowledge of property ownership must be an early step in the design process for coastal
protection works.
(5) Aesthetics. A final and especially challenging area in design pertains to the sense of beauty and
accepted notions of good taste. Many people feel that natural shorelines (e.g., wide, sandy beaches, rocky
cliffs, or vegetated marshes and trees, etc.) are more aesthetically pleasing than ones artificially manipulated
for shore protection. An uninterrupted, uncluttered, and natural view of the sea is desirable for most people.
Therefore, when possible, an aesthetically balanced and consistent appearance, replicating natural systems
is preferred.
(a) The "do nothing" alternative may result in a destructive wake of debris from flooding and wave
damage that is visually disturbing for days or weeks following a storm. Some alternatives (e.g.,
geotextile bags filled with sand) will not survive medium level storm events and leave a debris-
strewn beach.
(b) Aesthetics played a major role in selection of the final design for the new, hurricane protection,
seawall/boardwalk at Virginia Beach, Virginia. The initial design by the Corps was a massive,
curved, concrete seawall patterned after the one in Galveston, Texas. The City of Virginia Beach is
a popular tourist, recreation beach and the promenade (boardwalk) features a key aspect of the
design. The city rejected this initial design for aesthetic and tourist-economy reasons. First floor
hotel guests and restaurant patrons would not be able to see the ocean on the south end. Their view
was blocked by the crest elevation of the proposed seawall. The revised design lowered the seawall
elevation, modified the structural design, added interior stormwater drainage to accommodate
additional overtopping, and widened the nourished beach in front to mitigate storm energy. An
artist's perspective and aerial photo are found in Part V-3-2a (Figure V-3-6). The constraints that
dictated the final design were aesthetics and the need to accommodate the beach-driven, tourist
industry.
(c) Engineering is not applied science. Our limited understanding of nature is one constraint, but it is
far from the only one, seldom the hardest one, and almost never the limiting constraint for coastal
engineering design.
V-3-18
Shore Protection Projects
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