TY - JOUR PY - 2006// TI - Seawall impacts on adjacent beaches: separating fact from fiction JO - Journal of coastal research A1 - Basco, D. R. SP - 741 EP - 744 VL - IS - SI 39 N2 - The common perception in the US that seawalls "...increase erosion and destroy the beach" is examined by summarizing available field data including our own research efforts at Sandbridge, Virginia, beginning in 1990. Sand trapped behind seawalls is remove from the system, but is a relatively small fraction of the active sand volume across the entire profile to closure depth. End-of-wall or flanking effects may not be due to sand trapping but other mechanisms such as interior drainage, rip current formation, groin effect, and the seawall/adjacent beach system acting as a rocky headland/parabolic-shaped beach system. Suggestions are made for when seawalls are appropriate and when they are not, including methods to mitigate downdrift impacts, if appropriate. Many misconceptions, false assumptions and misleading statements have been made in the US literature. This paper begins to separate fact from fiction. Keywords: Drowning; Drowning Prevention; Water Safety

LA - en SN - 0749-0208 UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/25741675 ID - ref1 ER -