The Colonial Beach, Virginia, segmented detached breakwater and beach fill project consists of two sites, Central and Castlewood Park Beaches, constructed in October 1982 to protect a cohesive bluff (6 to 10 ft in height) eroding at a preproject rate estimated at 1.5 ft/year. The project sites were cooperatively monitored by the US Army Engineer District, Baltimore, and the US Army Engineer Waterways Experiment Station Coastal Engineering Research Center from October 1982 through June 1985. This report presents the data collected during the monitoring program and documents the bathymetric and shoreline response to the structures. Although the water level increase due to storm conditions was not fully considered in the original design of the beach fills, the project sites have successfully prevented erosion of the beach bluff. Results from the monitoring program were used to modify the Central Beach fill elevation, eliminating inundation of the beach during storms and increasing its recreational value. Volumetric analyses indicated that the Central Beach project area lost material during the most recent time period; however, the region which lost the least amount of sediment was to the lee of the structures. The Castlewood Park Beach area gained nearly the same amount of material that the Central Beach area lost ; however, 90 percent of this gain was in the offshore region . The Central Beach project is performing successfully in retaining the original quantity of beach fill, and Castlewood Park Beach has accreted additional material. However, the Castlewood Park Beach area has limited recreational appeal due to the marshy tidal flat and vegetative growth in the area. Both project sites are performing as designed, in protecting the back beach, bluff, and road, and in preventing project-induced shoaling of the Monroe Creek Federal Navigation Channel.
The Colonial Beach, Virginia, Detached Breakwater Project
Miscellaneous Paper ; CERC-89-2
1989
5748034
Report
Electronic Resource
English
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