Coastal Shore Protection

Coastal structures are important assets for the economic health of many coastal
communities to

Protect harbors and inlets that are important commercial and military navigation
links

Protect shore-based infrastructure

Provide beach and shoreline stability control

Stabilize navigation channels

Protect navigation, coastal communities, roadways, bridges, etc.

Provide flood protection

Provide recreational activities

A range of structural and non-structural shore protection types and techniques involve
innovative methods of construction or implementation
Structural Methods for Coastal Shore Protection
Seawalls - Seawalls are usually massive, vertical structures used to protect backshore
areas from heavy wave action, and in lower wave energy environments, to separate land
from water. They can be constructed using a range of materials; the most common being
poured concrete, steel sheet pile, concrete blocks, gabions, and timber cribs.
There are various types of seawalls. 1. Curved 2. Gravity 3. Steel Sheet Pile Walls

Bulkheads - These are vertical retaining walls to hold or prevent the soil from sliding
seaward. Their main purpose is to reduce land erosion and loss to the sea, not to
mitigate coastal flooding and wave damage. For eroding bluffs and cliffs, by retaining soil
at the toe, they increase stability by protecting the toe from undercutting. Bulkheads are
either cantilevered or anchored sheet piles or gravity structures such as rock-filled
timber cribs and gabions, concrete blocks, or armor stone units.
Jetties and Piers - Jetties are shore-normal stone structures commonly used for training
navigation channels and stabilizing inlets. In this case, jetties are used for controlling the
navigation depth of channels. Jetties prevent intrusion of long-shore sediment transport.
Jetties also constrain the steady flow causing higher flow velocities and thereby scouring
the channel to a depth required for safe navigation. Pier structures are sometimes
referred to as jetties. Piers are usually pile-supported structures with wooden or steel
decks and are used for pedestrian access, fishing, research, and supporting commercial
establishments.
Groins Groins initially interrupt the long shore transport of littoral drift. They are most
effective where long shore transport is predominantly in one direction, and where their
action will not cause unacceptable erosion of the down drift shore. When a well designed

groin field fills to capacity with sand, long shore transport continues at about the same
rate as before the groins were built, and a stable beach is maintained.
Sills / Perched Beaches - Construction of a low retaining sill to trap sand results in
what is known as a "perched beach," one that is elevated above its original level
Revetments - Revetments are a cover or facing of erosion resistant material placed
directly on an existing slope, embankment or dike to protect the area from waves and
strong currents.

Dikes and Levees - Dikes are typically earth structures (dams) that keep elevated
water levels from flooding interior lowlands. In open coast areas, dikes that separate low
lying areas from open water are often constructed with a revetment or similar armor
layer on the open water side to protect the dike from wave action and erosion. A typical
design of such a structure is found in the diagram.
Breakwaters - Breakwaters are generally shore-parallel structures that reduce the
amount of wave energy reaching the protected area. They are similar to natural bars,
reefs or nearshore islands and are designed to dissipate wave energy. The reduction in
wave energy slows the littoral drift, produces sediment deposition and a shoreline bulge
or "salient" feature in the sheltered area behind the breakwater. Some long shore
sediment transport may continue along the coast behind the near shore breakwater.

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Non-Structural Methods for Coastal Shore Protection
Vegetation Planting - Vegetation is an effective and inexpensive way to stabilize dunes
and protect marshes. It also enhances the natural beauty of the landscape, providing
pleasing variety and contrast to the eye and attracting small animals to the food, nesting
sites, and protective cover it affords.
Groundwater Drainage - Groundwater drainage or bluff dewatering is a common
practice used to rapidly drain ground and surface waters away from a bluff in order to
eliminate or reduce bluff failures initiated by groundwater seepage.

Beach Nourishment - Beach nourishment is the introduction of material along a

shoreline to supplement the natural littoral drift. There are several reasons for nourishing
a shore. These include:

Controlling erosive forces by providing a sacrificial area as a source of littoral

material

Supplementing littoral drift to offset particular actions or works

Replenishing reserves of littoral material normally available in sand dunes

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Sand Bypassing - Sand bypassing is the hydraulic or mechanical movement of sand,
from an area of accretion to a down drift area of erosion, across a barrier to natural sand
transport such as large scale harbor or jetty structures. The hydraulic movement may
include natural movement as well as movement caused by man.
Flood Proofing Flood proofing involves the implementation of a range of different
measures that are designed to eliminate or reduce potential flood damages in homes
and structures located in high flood hazard zones.
One of the most common flood proofing measures, particularly along the hurricane prone
U.S. Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico coast, is the elevation of homes above a specific flood
hazard elevation (usually the 1 in 100 year flood elevation).