At beaches, sand is running out

On the other side, estimates are that more than 80 percent of US beaches are eroding, some at rates as high as five feet a year. In addition, scientific studies predict that ocean levels will rise from one to two feet in the next 50 to 100 years. And geologists say the entire US east coast is slowly sinking, adding to the prospect of extensive coastal flooding in the not-too-distant future.

Throughout the history of mankind, the most natural and effective buffer between rising seawater and inhabited areas has been a beach. Barrier islands, in particular, can be invaluable in protecting mainland communities from storms.

But in this century - particularly the past 50 years - barrier islands have also become popular places to live. The resulting development has undermined the beaches' protective function.

In New Jersey, for example, the popular Jersey shore is riddled with jetties, groins, and sea walls. All were constructed to hold the beach at a fixed location. The massive, costly structures helped some beaches retain sand, but they did it at the expense of other beaches nearby.

The bottom line in New Jersey is that the state and all federal taxpayers will soon be shelling out $9 billion to pump sand from offshore areas onto 127 miles of sand-starved beaches.

"We call it sand-pumping money," says Ms. Savitz. "It is really like throwing money into the ocean."

Experts acknowledge that one big storm could send all that expensive sand back out to sea.

But so-called beach nourishment projects are under way all along the coast because they are seen as the only effective way to keep a developed beach where property owners want it and need it. It enables seaside communities to fight a kind of holding action against the approaching surf.

Success story

The bigger the beachfront development, the more the economics swing in favor of beach nourishment.

One of the most successful beach nourishment projects was undertaken at the southern end of Miami Beach in the late 1970s.

The area was widely perceived as a seaside slum. But the new, wide beach and a corps of pioneering developers helped transform the depressed neighborhood into something special.

Today, South Beach is an international mecca and one of the hottest real-estate markets in the world. "If it hadn't been for beach nourishment, South Beach wouldn't be what it is today," Mr. Leatherman says.

Unlike most replenishment projects, the sand on South Beach stayed put for close to 20 years. But the ocean never quits. A new sand replenishment project is just getting under way at South Beach. The project calls for 145,000 cubic yards of sand from an offshore sandbar to be pumped to a 1,500-foot stretch of beach.

It isn't a panacea, experts say. But it may be the best option for places like Miami Beach, where the potential damage from beach erosion could affect more than just the ability to sunbathe in relative privacy.

"If the beach is gone or ruined, you don't have a world-class resort anymore," says Leatherman.

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