this is my first time seeing the dredges etc. out on the beach. i was wondering what is the dredging going to do to the way wrightsville breaks, or how does dredging effect any beach for that matter?
its difficult to say unhelpful as that may be. dredging is an attempt to stop the removal of sand and other sediment by the ocean. it doesnt work for long
yeah, i've done a little research. seems it can go either way as far as helping breaks, or destroying them. regardless it seems that dredging is generally bad for the marine and coastal environment but is unavoidable as hard structures are far worse. anyone been over to m**e since the sand dump over there? better, worse, same? i'm boat-less and that giant machine is scaring me away from the inlet haha
dredging isn't an attempt to stop the ocean from moving sand, it's replacing what's been moved, and what will knowingly be moved again. as headhigh said, it can go either way with the breaks. if i recall correctly, last time CB was renourished, it got alot better for a while....i would imagine it will take a couple storms once the project is finished to really tell how it's going to affect the breaks.
my friend said it breaks just like wb now. and yes the big machine is scary. ive been wanting to go explor it when no one is on it.
once in wb and another time in ab the dredges caused a temporary pointbreak to form where it spits everything out. if the currents and conditions line up (rare) it can be fun. if they are running the pumps its pretty gross and you have to paddle around the fence thing they set up. im sure that it isn't legal and there may be a risk of hepatitis or something (ive heard rumors of a dead deer carcass being spit out of one of these things). no one ever really called me out on it but then again i only did it once. i dont see why anyone would care if it wasn't running. it effects the break for a little while and the bottom can be muddy. after a heavy storm/swell the ocean quickly redeposits the sand where it sees fit and the break usually turns back to whatever. which for most places in southern nc it goes from a weak closeout beach break into a slightly modified weak closeout beach break back into a weak closeout beach break..wahoo. its just delaying the inevitable. all of the barrier islands are being pushed back into the mainland. there is no way they will be able to save all the houses forever.
they said a month to 6 weeks. which basically means when spring comes by everyone will walk onto the beach seeing these big pipes.
Living in Florida, I experienced two beach renourishment projects. From what I remember, the effect on the quality of the waves depends quite a bit on the sediment they use. If it is quality (meaning then natural sand that should be on the beach or a close facsimile) it can make the waves better. If it is sh***y sediment (non-native, or overly muddy), the waves generally get worse. Obviously alot depends also on how the project is completed, where they dump the sand, etc. In my opinion, it's generally a bad thing for waves but in CB we really need it. The sunskipper is almost gone, the peak sucks and the backwash is horrendous. Also, like a few others have said, it generally doesn't take too long for things to return to normal after a few storms even if it does mess up the waves.
i went down and saw that pseudo point break starting to form today. i really hope the planets align so we can get some heavy rights off that thing. ok, ok ill take lefts too. ^^^^come onnn haha
... also judging from the south end, it looks like the sand they are pumping in is pretty hearty (as in not overly silty/sediment-y). ive got my fingers crossed for some interesting bars shaping up.
the "big machine" spits wherever it is that they are filling at that moment. basically the dredge company is starting at one end of the island (south end) and moving up the beach filling in as they go. the machine more or less stays put while a huge pipe is run, and constantly extended, up the shore. where the pipe ends determines where the sand and water mixture (known as slurry) is deposited.
