Islandkeeper
Public Funds for Private Property
by Islandkeeper
Aug 2019
About this article:
The comments here were written in response to a post on social media, where some people were complaining about a house on the southern shoreline of Dauphin Island, where the owner built a bulkhead in an attempt to save their property. The bulkhead has caused erosion on the downdrift/west side of the property, and some people say that it is selfish of the owner to have built the bulkhead.
Commenter #1
It’s funny how I never hear anyone complaining about the seawalls on the East End. The far East End is covered with rip-rap and man-made jetties to help build up the beach there and prevent erosion.
South of that house on the far West End with the seawall (next to the West End Beach) are several lots underwater, and without that seawall, that house would also be lost.
What you see happening on the west side of that house is the exact same thing that is happening to the entire gulf-front beach by the underwater “obstruction” known as the ship channel. It’s happening in plain view at that house on Bienville, but it’s happening quietly under the waves for the entire island.
Sand in the natural littoral drift, coming from the east, is trapped in the 40-50 foot deep ship channel, and when the channel sand is dredged, it is dumped out in deep waters where it will not migrate onshore.
When Sand Island/Pelican Island has completely merged with Dauphin Island, there will be no sand to replace it, due in large part to the dredging. And the erosion on the gulf side will worsen, with no jetties, no underwater artificial reefs, no replenishment by the Corps of Engineers for sand starvation from dredging, or any other measures.
Nothing has ever been done on a large scale to help build up the West End gulf-front beach - a 4-mile long beach that was public for seven years in the hopes that making it public would help get federal funding to restore it. But nothing happened, and frankly, I’m not surprised, seeing as how some on the island actually fight AGAINST doing anything to help the West End.
Some will say “Remove the seawall!” (of that house) and “Let nature take its course!” (for the entire West End). But those same people think man-made solutions are perfectly acceptable for the East End.
Commenter #2
I’m not aware of seawalls or bulkheads on the gulf side of the east end. ....???? The north shoreline of the east end is wholly different than what’s depicted in the photograph.
Note: The photograph the commenter is referring to is the aerial view of the westernmost house on the south side of Bienville Blvd.
Commenter #1
You're right, the East End looks "wholly different," and this is why....
Red arrows = Man-made rock jetties were installed to prevent erosion
Yellow arrows = Man-made rock seawalls were installed to prevent erosion
Green arrows = Strategically-placed, staggered-length jetties and seawalls were installed to create a scalloped beach, which helps to prevent more aggressive erosion.
There is no erosion mitigation like this anywhere on the West End.
The East End would look quite different today, if those man-made solutions were not there.
Commenter #3
What is not understood is why the bulk heads [around the house on west end of Bienville] were built in the first place. The reason is because the property owner could not get insurance for his house unless he protected it with the bulkheads. It was a costly project.
This situation exists because of the erosion caused by the Corps of Engineers maintenance dredging of the Mobile Ship Channel. We have lost over 23 million cubic yards of sand since 1980 either being deposited in the open Gulf or in the non-effective SIBUA that we learned that only 50% of the deposited sand leaves the SIBUA and the Corps does not know where it goes.
The Corps released their final GRR/SEIS for public comment that ended last month. I hope many of you submitted comments and for those who did thank you. The Corps of Engineers are the culprit not these property owners.
Also we now have a DIPOA Board of Directors who are more supportive of the property owners. The Board did submit comments for the Final Corps Document. What we need is for the Corps to respond to our requests and the Towns request to deposit the maintenance dredged sand in waters 15 feet deep or less and closer to Dauphin Island.
Because of the comment “why has nothing been done to combat this?” I don’t think you know that a small group, including myself and others, have been fighting the Corps of Engineers ever since the Corps Lawsuit In 2009.
For years, we have been sending updates about the Corps planned Mobile Harbor Widening and Deepening project and most recently about the draft GRR/SEIS and the final Document. We did get good responses from POA membership for the Final Document including letters from the Town, the POA Board, the Mobile Bay chapter of the Sierra Club, Organized Seafood Association and others.
So as you can see, we have been doing something and continue to do so. I hope this gives you an idea that we have been doing things, but difficulty remains. I hope you will join us with any efforts that may occur in the future.
Commenter #4
I've heard about it, but I did not know it was still ongoing. I do know that we don't get much government assistance after storms other than the typical national guard and FEMA. Isn't that due to the private property issue? Now, if I'm wrong, I would like to be corrected. Others have told me this, so....
Commenter #3
The “private property” issue has been used as an issue by the Corps and some others to not provide support but that is not true if especially GOMESA funding is used, which is not government funding. And I believe this position can also be countered.
Commenter #1
The Corps has provided erosion mitigation - for private beaches - at Perdido Pass many times over the years.
If a man-made process (channel dredging) interferes with a natural process…
(in this case, starving downdrift shorelines of sand that would otherwise receive sediment in the natural littoral drift to replenish their beaches)
…then asking for a man-made process to correct the problem is completely appropriate, since a man-made practice caused the problem.
It does not matter whether those starved shorelines are public or private.
Examples:
If a person who works for a government entity (e.g., a road crew, a crew fixing sidewalks, etc.) damages your private property due to their work activities, public funds will pay to fix the damage.
Property does not have to be public in order to receive assistance for damages caused by a government entity.
This is precisely what the Corps has done by dredging the channel for decades - starved the island of natural sand movement and its natural process of accretion onto the beaches, which would have helped to naturally restore the shoreline after erosion from storms.
The DIPOA did temporarily deed the West Surf Beach (the gulf-front shoreline from Pirates Cove to the end of Bienville) to the Town for seven years, making it public, hoping that might help garner some empathy for the cause.
When no funding was acquired, the West Surf Beach reverted back to ownership of the DIPOA, i.e., to all property owners on the island. Of course, much of the West Surf Beach, and a number of private lots, are now underwater, especially on the far West End of Bienville.