In the Height of Hurricane Season, Renourishment Efforts Could Protect, Save

By Roderick McClain

09-03-10 – Two coastal towns spent more than $20 million on beach renourishment projects last year. With the hurricane season underway, that investment could pay dividends for local residents.

Wrightsville and Topsail beaches have used dredged sand to widen their shorelines. That renourishment may be undone by erosion, but it will protect the coast from upcoming storms.

Larry Cahoon is a professor of marine biology at UNCW. He says the extra sand will be a buffer between residents and rough conditions.

"The amount of damage that a given storm can do to that beach is reduced simply because there is more beach there to erode before you get to the structures that we're trying to protect."

Along with protecting people and buildings, the extra sand will also safeguard fragile sand dunes.