The Independent — Officials see no easy fix as erosion hammers SK beaches

Erosion continues to change the landscape at South Kingstown Town Beach. This week, officials from the town and from CRMC spoke about the issue and the challenges to find an environmentally-friendly way to keep the local shoreline recognizable. Photo: Michael Derr

Apr 8, 2021

By Bill Seymour — SOUTH KINGSTOWN, R.I. — Erosion is a fight, and this town’s beach seems to be losing it. This year, again, chunks of sand have disappeared.

Each year, rushing water from the Atlantic Ocean steals both the sand and nearby foundations of land.

“If you think about it as man against nature, I guess we are losing,” said Robert Zarnetske, South Kingstown town manager.

Perhaps, when looking back at least two decades, it’s like shoveling sand against the tide. The task is so big that it probably won’t get finished easily. So far, a patchwork of repairs has tried to fix the problem that won’t go away, according to town officials responsible for overseeing the annual fixes.

“Most of Rhode Island’s shoreline is erosional –the sand disappears more quickly than it is replenished – so erosion is a problem the state as a whole faces. South Kingstown’s beaches are especially susceptible,” Laura Dwyer, spokeswoman for the Coastal Resources Management Council, told The Independent last week.

Another Tough Winter

This winter and spring are no exception at the South Kingstown Town Beach in Matunuck.

Sharp edges of cut-away turf tower above a stony beach now in early spring. These walls are back further, as a little more of the sand in front lies under more water. It is, as Zarnetske put it, a natural evolution.

“The shoreline is changing,” he said. “Our and our grandparents’ definitions of where the lines of sea and sand are will change, as has been happening forever.”

Zarnetske said, “The shoreline will be there. There will be a shoreline, but what it looks like and how we enjoy it will change – and is changing. We build new experiences around that.”

The Matunuck area near the beach has had erosion problems for many years. Just ahead, according to town officials, could be the start of building a 350-foot sheetpile seawall within South Kingstown’s right-of-way along Matunuck Beach Road.

…