A Cape Cod town spent $10 million last year to add more sand to its beach and half of it is already gone.
Town Neck Beach in Sandwich, Massachusetts, has an erosion problem, which is made worse by a jetty at the mouth of the Cape Cod Canal that blocks sand from moving onto the beaches in town, according to a NBC10 Boston report.
To remedy this issue, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers added more than 300,000 cubic yards of sand on the shoreline in a project that was completed earlier this year.
"The idea was that it would last five to seven years, but as you can see, about half of it is gone," Bill Boles from the Trustees of Sandwich Beaches, told the local outlet.
Town Neck and nearby First Beach have already lost 15 to 20 feet of the new sand before winter storms even hit the shoreline.
"This a very popular beach, and the town has invested a lot of money in the boardwalk," Laura Wing, president of the beach trustees, told the outlet. "I know the whole town wants to preserve it as much as possible."
Wing said that although beach erosion is a wider issue, the Cape Cod Canal “interfering with sand flow” is a “double whammy” for the coastal town.
Coastal erosion happens when the sea level rises, strong waves and flooding wear down or carry away sand and other natural materials, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
The extent and severity of coastal erosion are worsening with global sea level rise, which is mostly caused by meltwater from glaciers and ice sheets and thermal expansion of seawater, NOAA says.
"It's one of those things where you can't do nothing,” David DeConto, director of natural resources for Sandwich, told NBC10 Boston. “Any sand gives some protection to downtown. You never know how long it's going to last. This is not a one-time placement of sand.”
The town does get some relief every five years when the Cape Cod Canal is dredged.
