A resilient hamlet hit by 4 storms: Finding long-term solutions for a coastal communityBy Anna Carman
The damage to Montauk from the storms turned the beaches and hearts of locals upside down. All coastal communities aren’t perfect, but Montauk is close to paradise. To walk along the beaches when I’m home from college, to take my dog for a beach walk, or search for beach glass is like therapy. In the blink of an eye on Dec. 18, beautiful, but turbulent waves crashed onto the shore, wrecking many neighborhoods, hotels, and most importantly, the dunes–our first line of defense. Homes closest to the shorelines on most of the beaches were flooded and damaged to certain extents. So instead of looking for beach treasure, I encountered mangled ropes and rusty metal. What can we do to protect this coastal community for future generations?
The next few days post storm, the damage proved how strong each storm was. I drove around the back of town, closest to the town beach and there were debris and floods on the street surrounding the restaurants. As I moved closer to the beach, watching my step as if I was playing "the floor is lava," there were waves after waves aggressively crashing onto the shore, ripping away our dunes. The ocean looked terrifying that day, yet stunning. I remember seeing other locals watching those deep blue rolling waves as if it were a movie by Mother Nature. Like many others, several questions came to my mind: "How are they going to fix this?", "How long is it going to take?", "Is the beach ever going to be the same?". (Taken by Stephen Carman)
It's devastating to see your own home, the homes of your loved ones, and even homes of strangers destroyed after a coastal storm. It's clear that this is a major issue throughout the entire town, but one area that needs all the help it can get is Ditch Plains. Knowing that this beach experienced the worst of the storms, the beach renourishment project chose not to include it. About almost two months ago, a petition regarding immediate action on the loss of dunes at Ditch was made. Myself, friends, family, and hundreds of other locals signed it and sent it to the East Hampton Town Board. Thankfully, on January 26th the Town hired Henry Bokuniewicz Ph.D. from Stonybrook Marine and Atmospheric Sciences to help restore this popular area. According to Ditch Plains Association, many locals have been working with coastal engineers to bring in trucks of sand to repair the decimated dunes. (Taken by Stephen Carman)
My dad and I decided to drive around town to see the aftermath of the storm. We arrived at the beach where these heavy sandbags as big as my dining table laid along the beach. I didn’t realize the true size of these until I saw it with my own eyes! As I stood on top of this man-made barrier, I thought to myself how there used to be layers of sand on top of it. To think that these have been here for years, yet after four storms it looks completely different. Between the remaining dunes and the sandbags, smaller ones from years ago are still there, but aren't as supportive as the larger ones. To prevent the hotels from further damage, hundreds of these sandbags were placed by the Army Corp of Engineers before their project commenced. Without this barrier, the hotels would be completely destroyed which would impact the town's economy and form even more issues. (Photo by Anna Carman)
The Army Corps of Engineers arrived in downtown Montauk on their 480-foot barge called Ellis Island to start this complex, yet temporary 1.7 million dollar project to restore the downtown beach. This barge is essentially a "floating vaccum" that digs into the ocean floor to pump a fountain of slurry through these massive pipes, and onto the sandbags and most importantly, the shore to ensure a slower rate of erosion. This project is only a "band-aid" because it is going to be repeated every four years for the next few decades, unless financial complications rise. It's difficult to say that tampering with the marine environment, repeating this process, and spending millions of dollars is worth it in the end. The environmental and financial costs are high. The slurry that is currently going onto the beach is different from the sand that was originally there, and the cranes of Ellis Island burrowing into the ocean floor has formed a plume that may be disrupting the seabed and marine habitats. I can't help but wonder how our beaches will look 50 years down the road... (Photo by Anna Carman)
Guess what these are! These are the pipes that make this project come to life. Each one is connected and goes a mile or two out to the Ellis Island barge to carry the sand to the beach. There are two valves on the beach, one closer to the dunes and the other one points towards the shore to form an appropriate angle with the sand into the ocean. Not doing this will lead to greater erosion at an even faster rate which none of us want. Looking through one of the pipes, it looks dark at first, but in every hardship, there is always a light at the end of the tunnel, sometimes it just takes a bit to find it. (Photo by Anna Carman)
Much of Montauk’s community are surfers who chase after any wave at any beach, especially at Ditch Plains that experienced the worst of the storms. I am no expert, but when I think of solutions for the town, it’s important to get the community's opinion and have an open mind toward innovations that move us closer to a stronger coastal environment that has minimal environmental threats to locals and other life around us. Bringing in experts along with the community to create unique solutions that work for surfers, the fishing community, and those who genuinely just enjoy being at the beach is a key factor in moving in the right direction. Artificial patch reefs made out of recycled material can be placed inshore to slow the energy of the waves, but still bring fun waves for the surfing community. Other possible man-made solutions that have small environmental impacts can be researched by the community and the East Hampton Town Board. We all know that it's not going to be an easy process. Nothing like this is ever easy, but I think that's what makes it so worth it. (Courtesy of John Shyloski)
This cherished hamlet is called "The End" because its located at the very end of Long Island. Catching these impacts before it gets worse must be a top focus as climate change grows. This is a crucial reason why we need to discover long-term solutions with environmental organizations and the East Hampton Town Board to truly make a difference for everyone and everything. We have the opportunity to collaborate with organizations including the Surfrider Foundation, Relic,5 Gyres, and Concerned Citizens of Montauk to discover ways that protect the coastal community while also allowing surfers to catch “gnarly” waves. (Courtesy of John Shyloski)
Protecting Montauk and every other coastal community from erosion, pollution, and damage to homes and restaurants has a place in my heart of hearts, and I’m sure many other locals feel the same way. I think of how special Montauk is to me. Its persistence in improving the environment and community no matter what life throws at the locals, its attentiveness to the climate crisis, and how it supports hundreds of people who hold a connection to the ocean. We receive life in waves; some of them are messy and others are just what we want. It all depends on how we choose to look at this destruction. We can worry about the next storm and make little progress or take it as a lesson to create innovative long-term solutions. (Taken by Anna Carman)