Beach gets a refill: ‘Renourishment’ for West Seattle’s Lincoln Park

Thanks to Lucian for sharing photos of the big job under way right now on the west-facing Lincoln Park shore: Sand replenishment. Funny, we were just talking about beach erosion last month (Lincoln Park here, Alki Beach here). We got first word of the sand barge’s presence late last night, when Ellen e-mailed after spotting it on a late-night walk. Here’s a shot showing more of the barge itself:

We have an inquiry out to the Parks Department for details; so far, they’ve told us the “sand-replenishment project” is something they’ve “been waiting for,” and they’re rustling up background. We’ll add it when we get it.

5:59 PM UPDATE: Thanks to “Swamp Thing” in the comments, who reveals this is a federal project and shares what was purportedly a “public notice” (will be checking into whether it was actually circulated beyond fine print somewhere). According to the notice, this is part of a periodic “renourishment” project that started in the late ’80s – last round of “renourishment” was 2002.

mirabile December 2, 2010 (1:27 pm)

I hope they put the logs back just they way they found them. :)

wally December 2, 2010 (1:39 pm)

Looks like rocks- not sand.

Les Treall December 2, 2010 (2:25 pm)

This bothers me in several ways but I’ll try to limit myself. I am not an expert on beaches, but I have read some of Wolf Bauer’s findings on beaches. I also have some first hand experience working to fix landslides onto beaches and working to limit seacliff retreat.
First the natural process with beaches is that they build in summer and decline in winter and they are rivers of sand/gravel. They are always on the move. So put the gravel there now, next week it will be north or south of there depending on the flow. So this seems like a waste of money.
It also removes a learning opportunity. I read your posts on the beach erosion and thought “well that’s normal. Maybe it looks different, but it’s normal.” If left to the natural process, it would come back.
I suspect the response from officials would probably be that the natural beach “feeding” processes have been lost due to development and that the beach looks bad. And that is true, but that could be simulated by allowing contractors to dump limited amounts of clean soils onto the shores. This would simulate the natural process of seacliff erosion and weathering. 0f coarse it would be unsightly for a while, but it would save money especially if they could use the soils from the light rail tunnel or anywhere they can get clean materials. They could even charge dumping fees and make a revenue generator of it.

Rick in the Park December 2, 2010 (2:59 pm)

seems to me that they are working on the wrong end of the beach. It is the north end of Lincoln Parks’ beach that has undermined the bulkheads.

kathleen December 2, 2010 (4:55 pm)

While sand and rocks flow in and out with the seasons, it doesn’t all come back. Without natural erosion to replenish the beaches they are suffering from beach starvation. There are laws against dumping anything into the Sound. The beaches south of Brace Point could use a little sand and gravel too.

My two cents ... December 2, 2010 (4:59 pm)

This activity may be related to ensuring the integrity of the bulkhead which in turn protects the storm sewer pipe running along the trail/path/pavement.

Swamp Thing December 2, 2010 (5:49 pm)

There has been beach nourishment at this site since the late 1980s. This end of the beach is being protected because there is a 30″ diameter sewer main in the area. Any “soft” shoreline protection project like this requires periodic renourishment, so this project has been in the works for a while and is not a result of last week’s winds.

There is a good bit of background information on the project in the public notice (can be found at http://www.nws.usace.army.mil/ers/reposit/Lincoln%20Park%20NOP%20Public%20Notice1.pdf).

The project does simulate natural processes. The Lincoln Park feeder bluff is no longer a source of material to this beach because of the seawall. While a barge of material may seem like a lot at one time, it is not really geologically speaking.

WSB December 2, 2010 (5:59 pm)

Thanks, Swamp. That may have been a “public notice” but it certainly didn’t go to the media and would have been helpful if it had … I will contact the Corps and find out which list we’re somehow not on. As I noted, I asked Parks very early in the day what they could tell me … had no way of knowing I should have been pestering a different agency. Will add the link to the story – TR

kim December 2, 2010 (6:10 pm)

This is very irritating. The “sand” is actually garbage rock and every time they dump the rock it takes years to pack in. The logs are disrupted and the real tidal flow of puget sound sea rock, sand and driftwood is disrupted. It will take a year before the beach returns to normal flow of rock and sea hardscape.
When Cove Park (due South of Lincoln Park by the dock) had a “sand” infusion, it took a year to get rid of what really must have come from some left over land fill of cat litter and reject gravel.

MargL December 2, 2010 (6:39 pm)

I’m just thinking of all those poor little sea creatures getting crushed by thousands of tons of rock getting dumped on them. All those cautionary statements made by the Beach Naturalists (turn the rocks back over, leave the creatures where they are) are pretty much meaningless right now…

Dawn December 2, 2010 (7:04 pm)

They are man made beaches. It has always been this way. If you are a true West Seattle native this would not be new to you. Did you think the big rocks on alki just grew there? There used to be a pier out there too. It was called Luna Park. go to Spuds look on the wall.

Gina December 2, 2010 (7:51 pm)

And the beaches on either side of the Water Taxi dock are both man made. Used to be a great little sand beach that you crossed railroad tracks and blackberry bushes to get to.

Rockhound December 2, 2010 (8:40 pm)

I hope there are some agates in that gravel. There is agate, jasper and petrified wood in the gravel they are covering up.

NotMe December 2, 2010 (10:26 pm)

Thanks Dawn for reminding almost all of us that we aren’t “true” West Seattle people. Only the true ones can really say stuff like that, right?
.
Get a life. There really is a whole world outside the one we BOTH live in.

cj December 3, 2010 (2:48 am)

I just wish it wasn’t rocks. Yet at the same time we would have people probably camping on the beaches if it was sand.

Mark December 3, 2010 (11:22 am)

Anyone know how much this little project cost and where the dollars came to pay for it?

WSB December 3, 2010 (11:29 am)

Mark – I actually just got that information from Parks, and am publishing a separate followup. Short answer since you ask – $250,000, two-thirds federal, one-third city (Shoreline Parks Improvement Fund, Beach Maintenance Trust Fund).
.
Trying to get a little more information in the meantime regarding who actually got “public notice” because some who you’d expect to have been notified, weren’t.

Lucian December 3, 2010 (12:20 pm)

Just as a note–we went back that night to look again and they had dumped both rocks and sand on the beach. They had been dumping rocks when I was there taking pictures, but there were also new piles of sand they placed further up the beach (i.e. away from the water) later. They had two backhoes driving around spreading it all out.

velo_nut December 3, 2010 (3:55 pm)

So we can’t have a race at the park but nature can come rip the beach away?

insanity! Outrage! I demand to speak to who is in charge here!

That sand isn’t native!

Someone get that UW proffesor on the phone so he can write a letter.

Stewart Wechsler December 5, 2010 (9:35 pm)

I don’t know whether or not the benefits of this project outweigh the costs, but one cost that many would not be aware of is a temporary loss of some of the native and wild plants that grew where the sand was dumped, such as the yellow bloomed Puget Sound Gumweed – (Grindelia integrefolia to you botanists)
Here is an informative web-page on this plant:
http://onh.eugraph.com/photos/plants/gumweed/

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