As winter storms continue to batter the Pacific Ocean coast, so does erosion continue to eat away at the Westport area shoreline from the South Jetty to the Bonge Beach approach. The ‘hot spot’ this season remains in front of the Westport by the Sea condominiums complex at the foot of W. Ocean Avenue.
According to Phase 3 Home Owners Association President, Bob Parnell, a storm on Wednesday, March 9, created a new gully in the shoreline immediately south of the emergency erosion fix in front of Buildings 7 and 8 that was completed on March 2.
Sand bags – 160 of them – were placed along the inner edge of that new intrusion. The bags held up well in last Thursday’s storm, with just a few sliding down onto the beach.
Sunday’s blow, however, caused many more sandbags to slew off the bank. But, according to Parnell, “There was very little additional erosion. There is still some overwash up close to the buildings as a result of our recent very high tides, combined with very low barometric pressure and strong westerly winds, but we are generally holding our own,” said Parnell.
The sand bags have again been re-stacked to close the gap in the shoreline in in front of Building 7 in anticipation of the next storm event.
As for plans for future steps to prevent further erosion, Parnell noted that the Homeowners Association’s Emergency Exemption from Ecology’s standard fill permitting processes is good until the end of April, which allows continued temporary fixes.
“However, there are very limited options for what we can do for long term erosion control. We run into regulatory requirements that are interpreted so that the preservation of flora and fauna have higher priorities than the preservation of the human environment,” he said.
According to Parnell, the Homeowners Associations are considering alternative long-term solutions. “We feel that we need to go to a higher authority to see if we can get the Department of Ecology to use Grays Harbor Channel dredging spoils for beach nourishment along our coastline,” he said.
