Story
and photos by TIM FAULKNER/ecoRI News staff
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| Browning Cottage |
SOUTH
KINGSTOWN — As summer gets underway in the popular Matunuck Beach area, much of
the shoreline is still recovering from Superstorm Sandy's 2012 visit, and
ongoing erosion. Since 1951, the beach has migrated some 300 feet inland, and
erosion and coastal flooding accelerated after a spate of storms that began in
2010.
Along
a mile stretch of waterfront, several landmarks and summer destinations are
taking different approaches to adapting to the problems brought on by a
changing climate.
Increasing
beach erosion since the 1970s prompted the owners to move the buildings 50 feet
inland. Damage from Sandy led to the demolition of two of the remaining
cottages.
Since
the Coastal Resources Management Council (CRMC) issued an emergency building
permit in 2013, the last home has been pushed back 35 feet, a basement removed
and the home elevated atop 16-foot columns made of cement and steel. A
4,500-gallon holding tank was installed in place of a septic system.
A
second permit allowed construction of a barrier dune around the buildings. The
dune is fortified with sandbags wrapped in natural-fiber logs. The dune touches
the edge of the high-tide marker. The owner hopes the home will last 10 more
years.
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| Several summer homes had to be moved |
Roy Carpenter’s summer homes. For
the first time since 1976, the Fourth of July fireworks display has been
canceled. The fire marshal denied a permit because the beach is no longer wide
enough to offer a safe distance from the homes.
The
former seasonal fishing camp populated with tents and collapsible cottages has
evolved into a tight-knit beach community of 377 tiny homes. Most have about
500 square feet of space and rest on cinderblocks. The homes lack septic
systems, so residents rely on communal bathrooms or compostable toilets.
A
parking lot and a wide beach once provided an ample buffer from Block Island
Sound, but erosion has brought the beach to the doorstep of many homes and has
caused flooding in the interior of the dense housing development.
Superstorm
Sandy washed away three homes from the front row of cottages. Several others
were demolished because of structural damage. Farmland behind the 20-odd rows
of homes is available to relocate structures from the edge of the beach. Before
Sandy, plans were underway to move 28 homes. Of the 20 remaining, four were relocated
to the back row this spring.
“We’re
trying to find the best balance between nature, humans and everything,” said
Rob Thoresen, great-grandson of Roy Carpenter and co-owner of the property.
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| New septic leach field at Town Beach |
Town Beach. A site is being prepared for a “managed retreat” of
the public beach pavilion.
Since
the 1990s, waves and flooding have eaten away at manmade and natural
structures. Storms have destroyed a row of protective sand dunes and a
boardwalk. Sandy took out a large seating area at the front of the pavilion and
sea-level rise threatens the entire structure.
After
this summer, the pavilion will be relocated some 300 feet inland. Currently,
construction of a leaching field is underway to manage wastewater.
The
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is paying $300,000 of the $400,000
project.
“Hopefully,
the pavilion will be standing for another 25 to 50 years,” said Terry Murphy,
the town’s director of leisure services.
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| Ocean Mist has to fortify its foundation |
The
Ocean Mist fortified its foundation this spring. The owner is contesting a new
wall planned for beside the building. Ocean Mist. This bar and nightclub
is ground zero for the climate-change and property-rights policy struggle in
Rhode Island. The structure sits between the ocean and a wall of stone and sod.
At high tide, water runs underneath the wood pilings that support the building.
Owner
Keith Finnegan recently lost a legal battle to prevent construction of a
sheet-pile wall that, if built, will sit next to his building. The town intends
to install the wall in October to protect a road that provides access to
several businesses and residences in the beach community. Finnegan believes the
wall will deflect incoming waves toward his building. This spring he installed
wooden planks under Ocean Mist to reinforce its foundation.
When
completed, most of the wall will be buried, with a 3-foot cement cap above
ground. The barrier will resemble the cement wall at Narragansett Beach.
The
proposed 202-foot sheet-pile wall is itself a controversy. The CRMC approved
construction in 2012 after the board reversed an original decision to deny it.
The wall is expected to exacerbate erosion along exposed portions of the beach,
much like an existing manmade stone wall, called a revetment, that lies to the
west of Ocean Mist. The project underscores the debate between trying to
protect property and letting nature run its course.
Regardless
of what’s built to prevent further damage, the shoreline is likely to move
another 300 feet inland by the end of the century, according to Grover Fugate,
CRMC's executive director. “Nothing is going to work in the long run, but some
of (the fixes) are going to buy you more time," he said.