Coastal Erosion

Hardening a shoreline can interfere with necessary profile adjustments because the dune can no
longer share its sand with the beach. As a retreating beach encounters a seawall or revetment it can
no longer draw upon a land-ward sand supply and it begins to erode.

Beach erosion leads to narrowing and, soon, beach loss. Much of Hawaii's beach loss could have been
avoided if houses were not built so close to the water. The law presently allows homes 40 feet from
the shoreline. On coasts experiencing chronic erosion this is too close and leads to hardening in order
to protect houses from the waves.

Beaches are threatened any time supply of available sand is reduced. In addition to shoreline
hardening, other processes contribute to erosion: sea-level rise, sand mining, channel dredging,
dune grading, reef degradation, and others.

BEACH FACT Seawalls

may stop coastal
erosion, but on
chronically eroding
shores, hardening leads
to beach erosion.

Resources www.SOEST.Hawaii.Edu

Fletcher, C.H., Mullane, R.A., and Richmond, B.M., 1998. Beach loss along armoured shorelines
on Oahu, Hawaiian Islands. Journal of Coastal Research, v.13, no. 1, pp. 209-215.
U.S. ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS, 1991. Beach response to the presence of a seawall:
Comparison of field observations. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Coastal Engineering Research
Center, Technical Report CERC-91-1, 63 pp.
Watson, S., 1997. Economic of beach restoration. Coastal Currents, Florida Coastal Management
Program Newsletter, v. 5, no. 3, pp. 6-8.
 Coastal Erosion

Kahala Beach loss because of the shoreline armoring.

Coastal Erosion
Coastal Erosion
 Coastal Erosion

Photograph taken at extreme low tide. In this erosion prone area, beach has
eroded exposing rocks. The beach is much narrower because of the loss of sand.
The seawalls are exacerbating the attrition and proving the information
provided by SOEST as being correct.