DARE COUNTY, N.C. — For years, Dare County in North Carolina has been working on beach replenishment projects. But in Rodanthe, that hasn’t happened just yet.
There are houses teetering on the edge of the ocean. The beach there hasn’t been replenished yet, unlike the beach in Nags Head which has been nourished. You can see people have plenty of space to move around, and the houses and roads are far away from the crashing waves.
“Our beaches are eroding. It's measurable,” said Dare County Manager Bobby Outten. “It’s why we’re here.”
I met Outten on beautiful Jennette’s Pier in Nags Head.
“If somebody said Nags Head, you would think ‘beach’ would be the next thing and absent that, there's no reason for Nags Head to be here," said Outten.
He told me this would be a very different beach if it hadn’t been for their beach nourishment projects.
Back in 2010, Nags Head was their first beach replenishment. It’s the process of pumping sand onto the shoreline to address erosion by heightening and widening the existing beach.
“The original project just in Nags Head, the first project I think, cost about $35 million,” said Outten. “Since 2010, we've spent roughly $200 million on beach nourishment throughout their county.”
Outten tells me in addition to Nags Head, they’ve been able to complete projects on the coastline in Duck, Southern Shores, Kitty Hawk, Kill Devil Hills, Avon and Buxton.
“Before we did beach nourishment, most people, a lot of people, it was kind of 50/50 whether it was a good idea or not. People said you're throwing money away, you're dumping money in the ocean, you're throwing it away," said Outten.
However, Outten says that residents who were against the idea quickly changed their minds when Hurricane Irene came through shortly after.
“...When we came out here that morning, after Hurricane Irene, we walked out on the pier to see how much damage had been done,” he said. “There were no homes damaged, there was no water in the road coming in, there was no infrastructure damage. The beach that we had just built was still here, it was still flat, and everybody became an instant convert. And so, we really don't get much pushback about beach nourishment anymore after that storm.”
The beach doesn’t just protect homes on the other side of the highway, but also important public infrastructure.
But there is one beach they haven’t gotten to just yet.
“Rodanthe’s never been nourished," said Outten.
Houses in Rodanthe are crumbling into the ocean as owners struggle to combat the rising sea levels and quickly receding shoreline.
“We're looking at it and we're working on it. But we don't have enough money in the fund to add a project," said Outten.
Outten tells me initial beach replenishment projects can cost up to $35 million or more, with maintenance done every five to seven years at a slight discount of $15 million to $18 million per town.
And as much as they would like to nourish Rodanthe, he says they just don’t have enough funding.
“We don't have enough money now to build and maintain another project,” said Outten. “So, we're working with the feds and with the state, trying to come up with a way to fund that project. We haven't gotten there yet.”
Dare County’s beach nourishment fund is provided by a 2% portion of Dare County’s 6% Occupancy Tax and is also funded by property and municipal service district taxes.
Outten says the beaches are an important part of North Carolina and make up 90% of their economy.
“We have a roughly $2 billion economy here. The tourism is what fuels that. And so, if you want to have that tourism economy, then you have to have clean, nice beaches that people are willing to come to," he explained.
Currently, there are no other tools available under North Carolina law to combat the rising sea levels and intense storms — sea walls, jetties, and hardened structures are not allowed.
“The only tool that's in the toolbox to mitigate the effects of beach erosion is beach nourishment," said Outten.
Outten says eventually, they’ll have to make some tough decisions. But for now, they’re going to do what they can to protect the beaches.
“It works. It does what it's supposed to do. It protects our infrastructure. It protects our economy and protects our roads. It protects the things that it's supposed to protect. And so, for Dare County, it's been a success," said Outten.
Outten tells me they hope to continue replenishing these beaches as soon as they can save up enough money again.
