[SEMCO] Future of Falmouth's South Shore

[Tompkins, Laurie (DCR)]

A workshop for coastal decision-makers and the public entitled The Future of
Falmouth's South Shore: A Discussion with the Falmouth Coastal Resources
Working Group will be held on Wednesday, September 15th from 7:00-8:45 pm at
the Falmouth Public Library, 123 Katherine L. Bates Road, Falmouth, MA. 

 

The primary purpose of this workshop is to examine the findings and
recommendations of the Falmouth Coastal Resources Working Group's (CRWG)
report on the impacts of coastal management strategies on the South Shore of
Falmouth.  The staff of the CRWG will present a short synopsis of their
history and mission; discuss the relevant issues, problems and coastal
processes that factor into the final report; describe short and medium term
actions and tasks, and long-term strategies that resulted from
deliberations; and work with the workshop participants to determine the best
outreach methods to better educate both coastal-decision-makers and the
public

 

In response to public concerns about deleterious impacts of coastal
development, the Falmouth Board of Selectmen, in 2000, appointed the Coastal
Resources Working Group to: 1) identify key factors dictating the current
condition of the sediment system along the south shore; 2) explore reasons
for the current condition; 3) develop future scenarios of the coastal zone
based on physical processes and coastal management; and 4) provide community
outreach concerning coastal processes.  The CRWG presented its findings and
recommendations to the Board of Selectmen on May 12, 2003, and has since
made presentations to several town committees and civic groups.  Its major
findings were that:

 

1)      nearly half of the parcels along the south shore are armored (3.6
miles of armored coastal parcels out of a total of 7.9 miles of coastline).
Existing coastal armor includes 70 groins, 10 jetties and 94 revetments.
About half of the coastal armor and groins are on Town parcels;

 

2)      natural coastal sediment transport processes have been badly damaged
by coastal armoring.  Jetties and groins prevent sediment from moving along
the shore, and instead divert sand far offshore to be lost from the coastal
system.  Coastal armor cuts off sediment supply to downdrift beaches,
resulting in net loss of sediment; 

 

3)      over the last 30 years, average erosion rates along the south coast
have increased by a factor of 5 to 10, based on new erosion rate data from
the 2002 Massachusetts Shoreline Rate Change Study.  The acceleration in
overall erosion is most likely due to the deleterious effects of coastal
armoring combined with rising sea level.  Loss of sand from beaches is
outpacing sand supply to beaches, because sediment sources (eroding bluffs)
have been armored and no longer shed sand into the longshore sediment
transport system.  Shoreline retreat has occurred, resulting in narrower
steeper beaches and a narrower coastal zone; 

 

4)      local sea level has risen by approximately 12 inches in the last
century, and is expected to rise by another 19 inches by the year 2100.
Rising sea level compounds shoreline loss and erosion; and that

 

5)      key sediment sources are located within the Town, making it feasible
for the Town to undertake long-term restoration.  

 

The report states that over the next 100 years, if present coastal
management practices do not change, the results will be beaches that have to
be artificially nourished because natural sediment sources have been
blocked, few if any dunes, narrower shorelines as sea level rises, increased
property damage from storms because protective beaches and dunes have shrunk
or disappeared, increased need for armoring, reduced public access, loss of
habitat, loss of attractive coastal vistas, and rising costs to artificially
maintain a coastline that cannot sustain itself.

 

Alternatively, the report continues, if Falmouth changes its coastal
management to restore a self-sustaining coast, the year 2100 may see: 1)
beaches and dunes that are wide enough to protect against storms because
enough sand will exist in the coastal system to sustain these landforms; 2)
sediment that is freer to move because there will be few coastal structures
and armoring; 3) vulnerable public infrastructure that is moved inland from
the current shoreline; 4) improved coastal water quality and habitat; 5)
proactive coastal management that focuses on problem prevention, planning
and mitigation; and 6) a more attractive shoreline with better public
access, providing better protection against storm damage.

 

To achieve this vision, the CRWG recommends the following actions:

 

1)      Acquire and protect coastal open space, particularly in key sediment
supply areas,

2)      Encourage landowners to provide coastal buffers,

3)      Undertake beach nourishment and removal of armoring, beginning with
Town parcels and an experimental approach,

4)      Improve public access to the shore, create a public "Coastal
Pathway" and promote coastal ecotourism,

5)      Develop Town incentives for naturalizing the coast,

6)      Develop a Flood Hazard Mitigation Plan,

7)      Manage coastal resources in a coordinated manner Town-wide, with an
emphasis on letting natural processes operate,

8)      Improve coastal regulations to better protect the coastline, and 

9)      Provide public outreach concerning coastal processes.  

 

Workshop attendees will participate in discussions focusing on these
findings and recommendations, while helping to determine the best methods of
public outreach and education. 

 

Copies of the CRWG's report can be reviewed at the Selectmen's Office,
Falmouth Town Hall, 59 Town Hall Square, Falmouth, MA 02540, phone: (508)
548-7611; and at the Falmouth Library, phone: (508) 457-2555; or contact Dr.
Jo Ann Muramoto at (508) 833-6600.  The report can be downloaded from the
website for the Coastal Ocean Institute, Woods Hole Oceanographic
Institution, at www.whoi.edu/institutes/index.htm
<http://www.whoi.edu/institutes/index.htm>  (select "Coastal Ocean
Institute"), or from the Town of Falmouth's website at
www.town.falmouth.ma.us/depart.php?depkey=coastal
<http://www.town.falmouth.ma.us/depart.php?depkey=coastal> 

 

Additional information about this workshop may be obtained from:

 

Waquoit Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve

Laurie Tompkins, Volunteer and Events Coordinator,  508-457-0495 x108

Laurie.tompkins at state.ma.us <mailto:Laurie.tompkins at state.ma.us> 

 

Coastal Resources Working Group

Dr. Jo Ann Muramoto, 508-833-6600, muramoto at horsleywitten.com
<mailto:muramoto at horsleywittemn.com> .

 

 

Laurie L. Tompkins

Event & Volunteer Coordinator

Waquoit Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve

P.O. Box 3092

Waquoit, MA 02536

Phone 508-457-0495 x108

Fax 617-727-5537 

 

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