Monday, September 21, 2009



Ha! They should have posted this years ago but oh, well.

I tried to do a cost/benefit analysis of the beach nourishment project in my head, but then I remembered that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers thoughtfully provided one a few meetings of the Beach Alliance ago. But only for Newbury.

Then again ... Mark Habel of the USACE backed off what he reported that day, I believe.

At any rate, if you want to remember that the nourishment has a life expectancy of 5 years, the benefit is not really measurable, is it? Some of the houses could be leveled by a hurricane, for example, within the next 5 years.

The more I hear about this whole thing, the more I am conflicted.

Just think of the northern end of Plum Island becoming part of Salisbury (which might happen if the channel is not dredged). I heard from a fisherman that big boats are already scraping the bottom.

This is a federal channel. The reason why it has not been dredged regularly is precisely because mostly only recreational boaters use it these days and the money allotted for dredging (which was severely cut back during the Bush administration, I might add) went to projects where commerce is involved.

I'm not sure how much money I would spend on Plum Island, or the landfill, or any other area with an arguably limited benefit - limited IF you exclude the water/sewer system and the spread of toxic gas across the whole city. It's that IF that makes the difference (plus the fact that landfill neighbors have been suffering daily for 9 yrs. now).

5 comments:

Bubba said...

Of course, the beach nourishment may also prevent some of them from being leveled by a hurricane.

It wouldn't become part of Salisbury, though it could become accessible only via Salisbury.

Gillian Swart said...

Of course I meant it would become part of the Salisbury land mass, not part of the town. Sorry for the lack of clarity.

From what I hear, part of the objection to the easements is people potentially losing their ground-floor ocean view when the dune is built up.

What do you think about that, Bubba? Cut of your nose to spite your face, or what?

Not willing to lose view but will risk whole house and those of my neighbors.

Bubba said...

From what you hear ? Is that like Fox News "some say" ? Unfortunately, stupidity and self interest are ubiquitous.

Gillian Swart said...

OK Mr. Picky - it's what was said at the last Beach Alliance mtg. So I heard it.

Bubba said...

Ah, I wasn't sure if it was official or through the grapevine. Thanks. I'll have to ride my Plover Pony to the next meeting.