Cobble and woody debris move with waves, providing erosion control without increasing erosion along adjacent shorelines.
Willapa Shoreline Erosion Protection Demonstration Project: 2018-2019
Note: This page requires an update
About
Pacific County was awarded funding by the Washington State Legislature in 2018 to develop a long-term plan for addressing shoreline erosion impacts to public and private infrastructure and properties. Stemming the erosion of the northernmost shorelines of Willapa Bay is critical to the communities of North Cove and Tokeland as well as the ancestral lands of the Shoalwater Bay Tribe. The project launched in June 2018 and is expected to conclude the following year, delivering necessary engineering plans and permit approvals for long-term protections (30 years and longer) from coastal erosion for a length of shoreline (approximately 1,500 to 3,000 feet). The project is intended to develop expertise in construction technique and materials requirements for future use in implementation of a regional-scale erosion protection project. This demonstration plan will represent a master template for implementation of followon phases of shoreline erosion protection that minimizes or eliminates adverse environmental impacts and meets state and federal regulatory requirements.
No funding for construction of the demonstration project has yet been identified (2018) but will be a priority next step once a preferred plan has been developed.
Project Organization
This Demonstration Project will be a collaborative effort including participants from the County and a consultant team led by Mott MacDonald, a global engineering and design firm with unique expertise in coastal resilience and protection measures. Key contributing resources on the project team will also include Washington Department of Ecology, Grette Associates, Shannon & Wilson, Archeological Investigations Northwest, Inc., Berglund Schmidt & Associates, and LeadToResults.
Supporting the consultant team are two committees assembled from community, tribal, county, state, and federal resources:
Workplan
Four phases of activities will begin in the summer of 2018 and conclude in early 2019. Steering and Technical Committee engagement will be expected throughout all phases, and progress reports will be periodically published.
I. Data Collection (New & Existing)
The Tokeland/North Cove erosion area has been scientifically mapped and researched at various locations over twenty-plus years in formal and informal surveys and assessment exercises. Considerable information has been collected on the areas’ geology and the channel migration of Willapa Bay. This data collection phase will collate past studies and attempt to fill any gaps in knowledge needed to design long-term protections. Collection activities in this phase will include visits to the field site, surveys of hydrographic and topographic conditions, geotechnical assessment, and studies of the sediment grain sizes.
II. Preliminary Engineering
Design criteria will be documented to include conclusions from earlier data collection and refreshed assessment of coastal conditions. Alternatives for shoreline protections will be proposed and evaluated, including factoring in costs for development and feasibility of construction.
III. Regulatory Permitting
Eventual construction activities for this demonstration project will require permits from county, state, and federal agencies. Discussion with each agency responsible for oversight of the proposed sites will encompass requisite permit preparations and required constraints. Appropriate permit applications will be prepared.
IV. Final Engineering Design
The selected design plan and specifications for construction will be assembled into a documents package suitable for release to interested contractor bidders, at whatever data funding is available to pursue next steps in development.
Areas to be Evaluated
Geotechnical, topographic, and hydrographic survey data is being collected from past studies and supplemented with new field site assessments. Three distinct shoreline regions can be characterized from this data, with Region 2 being the primary focus of this Demonstration Project:
- Region 1, West Area: Predominately controlled by tidal channel northward migration.
- Region 2, Middle Area: Stable channel conditions, but erosive shoreline subjected to impact from waves and localized hydrodynamic effects.
- Region 3, East Area: Deepening of the bottom slope that provides increased wave energy propagation to the shoreline.
The North Cove shoreline is comprised of three distinct regions, each with differing conditions influencing erosion trends. The North Cove Dynamic Revetment addresses erosion in Region 1 and is coordinated with two other projects working in the adjacent regions.
(Image credit: Washington Coastal Hazards Resilience Network)
Public Outreach
Public engagement throughout this process will include community meetings and workshops with the county commissioners, as well as published summaries of meetings of the Steering and Technical Committees. Communications outreach will keep the public informed as to progress (new findings, constraints, alternatives being explored, next steps) as well as provide opportunities for stakeholders to share input during the study process.
Information workshops for the general public will provide updates on progress will be planned, with at least two to be hosted at the Shoalwater Bay Tribe Community Center in Tokeland and preceded by regional promotion of date and time.
In addition, workshop updates with Board of Commissioners for Pacific County are anticipated during the project (to which the public is welcome to join), with dates and times for these meetings to be posted on the commissioners’ website calendar.
Public Meetings
April 17, 2019
A community update meeting & exhibit on the Willapa Shoreline Erosion Protection Demonstration Project was held at the Shoalwater Bay Community Center in Tokeland on Wednesday April 17, 2019.
Materials describing the shared information and recommendation of the project team can be found here and in two newspaper articles: Dynamic revetment revealed as top choice for North cove shoreline preservation (South Beach Bulletin) and Pacific County community rallied to save beach (Chinook Observer).
For more information contact Kelly Rupp at wecan@leadtoresults.com.
May 9, 2017
Meeting Announcement – May 9, 2017
November 16, 2016
Contacts
Project Team Lead and Primary Point of Contact: Kathy Spoor, Pacific County Administrator: kspoor@co.pacific.wa.us
Consultant Team Contact: Shane Phillips, P.E., Mott MacDonald: shane.phillips@mottmac.com
WECAN Administration: WeCan@co.pacific.wa.us
Lisa Ayers, Pacific County Commissioner District #3: layers@co.pacific.wa.us
David Cottrell, Grayland Drainage District #1: cranberrydavid@yahoo.com
Tim Crose, Pacific County Department of Community Development: tcrose@co.pacific.wa.us
Kevin Decker, Washington Sea Grant: kadecker@uw.edu
David Michalsen, US Army Corps of Engineers: David.R.Michalsen@nwp01.usace.army.mil
Charlene Nelson, Shoalwater Bay Tribe: cnelson@shoalwaterbay-nsn.gov
Mike Nordin, Pacific Conservation District: plutroll@willapabay.org
Tim Pelzel, Friends of North Cove: timpelzel@gmail.com
Kelly Rupp, LeadToResults, LLC: kelly.rupp@leadtoresults.com
Bobbak Talebi, Washington Department of Ecology: bobbak.talebi@ecy.wa.gov
Photos of Willapa Bay & Willapa Bay Shoreline Erosion Protection Demonstration Project
Drone photos credit: Washington Department of Transportation, October 2018.
SR105 eastward from hard armor sections
SR105 and beach along eastward armoring
SR105 and beach at easternmost armoring
SR105 and accretions along hard armor sections
Shoreline near Outflow showing anchored LWD
Sandspit at Outflow and Groyne Acretion
Sandspit at Outflow and Groyne Acretion
Revetment region
Outflow to Groyne and Eastward
Outflow to Groyne and Eastward
High Altitude wave action around Outflow and Groyne
High Altitude wave action and shoreline above and below Groyne
High Altitude Outflow past Groyne
High Altitude Outflow coastline west to Ocean
High Altitude Outflow and Ditch westward
Ditch Outflow
Ditch Outflow closeup
This webpage was produced in part by the Washington Coastal Resilience Project, which increase the state’s capacity to prepare for coastal hazards related to sea level rise. The project was led by the Washington State Department of Ecology and Washington Sea Grant, with funding provided by NOAA Regional Coastal Resilience Grants Program (grant #NA16NOS4730015)