Table 4
EFFECTS ON THE ENVIRONMENT
Option
Effect
No Action
No consistent positive or negative effects.
Relocation
No consistent positive or negative effects.
Bulkheads
Impacts will be almost nonexistent. Bulkheads that stabilize eroding clay bluffs may decrease
turbidity and enhance water quality. Construction operations may temporarily increase suspended
sediment loads.
Revetments
Same as for bulkheads. In addition, stone structures with submerged lower portions may provide
an improved habitat for certain fin and shellfish species.
Breakwaters
Stone and similar materials will improve habitat to an even greater degree than revetments.
Decreased wave action and current strengths behind breakwaters may inhibit circulation and
exchange and could impair water quality.
Groins
Similar to breakwaters except that water circulation problems are not likely to be as troublesome.
Beach Fills
Increased quantity of sand will result in greater turbidity, especially during initial placement. Sand
lost from the fill may deposit elsewhere such as in shellfish beds, etc.
Vegetation
Vegetation provides a superior habitat for many important species in the food web. Well-
established stands of vegetation also filter the water and decrease the amounts of suspended
sediment and pollutants. Marshes enhance the ecological value of almost any shoreline.
Drainage Controls
No significant impacts except where they stabilize clay bluffs. In those cases, turbidity will be
decreased locally.
Slope Flattening
Same as "Drainage Controls".
Perched Beaches
Same as "Breakwaters" and "Beach Fills".
Structures and
Same as "Beach Fills"; also depends on the
Fills
structure.
Structures and Vegetation
Same as "Vegetation"; also depends on the structure.
IMPLICATIONS FOR COASTAL ZONE MANAGEMENT
As can be seen from the information already presented, the selection of proper alternatives for
protecting shorelines requires trade-offs among many advantages and disadvantages. No single
alternative will apply in every case and each has to be considered on its own merits.
Consistency in the planning or review of low cost shore protection systems requires an
encompassing set of guidelines or goals that should be established by each local jurisdiction. The desire
is to satisfy a community's development plans without risking property or life, while simultaneously
protecting its ecological resources. Each community has its own set of attitudes, social goals, and
political styles which will determine the policies it develops.
75
Previous Page
