Beach Nourishment

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Beach nourishment is where loose material is placed on a beach, to augment sediment supplied by other sources such as streams and eroding bluffs. Nourishment may be used to restore a target beach profile, change beach texture, or replace lost sediment supply, and may occur at very small or very large scales. Beach nourishment may aim to restore a particular beach ecology, reduce erosion of adjacent shorelines, or create recreational amenities for shoreline landowners. Beach nourishment may be accompanied by drift log placement or various erosion or grade-control features. Nourishment may affect Beach Shellfish Production, Beach Forage Fish Spawning, and Beach Food Webs and Biodiversity. Because of the diversity of settings, purposes, and effects, beach nourishment is not inherently a restoration action and should be evaluated in context.

Notes

• As part of a science sprint, Lambert & Chamberlin 2023 provides a synthesis of our current knowledge of the effectiveness of beach nourishment in modifying beach structure, and changing ecological function, particularly in the context of beach nourishment as a mitigation measure to offset the effects of shoreline armoring. These authors provide the following qualified assessments:
  • "Beach nourishment is an effective restoration strategy when included in a suite of tools."
  • "Effectiveness of beach nourishment actions is sensitive to the volume of sediment placed."
  • "Ecological benefits of beach nourishment are largely inconsistent and remain generally unknown; further directed research activities are warranted."
  • "Project design requirements for beach nourishment should include better accounting of sediment loss due to natural processes."
  • "Cost/benefit of beach nourishment may warrant alternative strategies"

Beach and Sediment Dynamics¦Restoration Products

The following Product pages are categorized with the categories Beach and Sediment Dynamics¦Restoration.

Documents

Cereghino et al 2022 beach nourishment science sprint.pdf  •  Detheir et al 2020 snohomish railroad grade nourishment.pdf  •  Dethier et al 2016 impacts of armoring  •  Drummond et al 2018 Poster edgewater bulkhead removal and boat lidar.pdf  •  Ehinger et al 2015 DRAFT beach habitat value.pdf  •  Finlayson 2006 geomorphology of puget sound beaches.pdf  •  Fresh et al 2004 guidance restoration protection.pdf  •  Friends of the San Juans 2014 armoring impacts and sea level rise.pdf  •  Galster & Schwartz 1990 ediz hook case study erosion and mitigation  •  Gerstel et al 2012 kitsap sediment supply poster.pdf  •  Gerstel et al 2012 kitsap shoreline sediment source analysis.pdf  •  Goetz et al 2004 PSNERP restoration principles.pdf  •  Henderson et al 2018 Poster boat lidar shoreline inventory.pdf  •  Johannessen & Waggoner 2008 lummi shore road monitoring.pdf  •  Lambert & Chamberlin 2023 beach nourishment science synthesis.pdf  •  MacDonald et al 2013 elwha nearshore workshop proceedings.pdf  •  MacLennan et al 2017 beach strategies phase one summary.pdf  •  Ruggiero et al 2013 coastal shoreline change  •  Schlenger et al 2011 PSNERP strategic needs assessment.pdf  •  WDNR 2013 piling and creosote removal BMP.pdf  •  Weiner et al 2018 Poster high resolution mapping puget sound shoreline.pdf  •  Weiner et al 2018 mapping bluffs and beaches  •  Zu Ermgassen et al 2016 oyster restoration objectives for ecosystem services.pdf

Websites & Datasets

Shoreline Monitoring Database

Graphics

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• Shoreline Monitoring Database

Beach Topics

The following Product pages are categorized with Beach.

Alternative Shoreline Armoring  •  Beach Food Webs and Biodiversity  •  Beach Forage Fish Spawning  •  Beach Sediment Dynamics  •  Beach Shellfish Production  •  Beach ecosystem assessment  •  Beach social dynamics  •  Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad Grade  •  Eelgrass  •  Eelgrass Restoration  •  Feeder Bluffs  •  Managed Retreat  •  Nearshore Monitoring Strategy  •  Nearshore Salmon Recovery Planning  •  Non-natal Nearshore Rearing of Salmon  •  Olympia Oyster Restoration  •  Pacific Herring

particles of clay, silt, sand, gravel, or cobble, transported by water, are called sediment.