Massachusetts town grapples with sea rise after sand barrier fails - TheGardian

A sand dune erected to protect homes in Salisbury, Massachusetts, washed away in three days. Photograph: WCVB Channel 5 Boston
 

A $500,000 sand dune collapsed in days after being erected, and residents are looking for help to protect their homes

On the border with New Hampshire and Massachusetts – about 35 miles north of Boston – is Salisbury, a coastal town and popular summer destination for tourists. But for those who live in the town year round, especially those who live on the coastline, life’s not a beach.

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Last month, after a series of storms battered the area, local citizens came together to take the necessary steps to protect their homes. Volunteer organization Salisbury Beach Citizens for Change raised more than $500,000 to erect a 15,000-ton sand dune – a formidable barrier that would hopefully protect at least 15 beach houses from destruction.

Or so they thought. The sand dune was completed after one month in early March, but just three days later, the dune – and nearly half a million dollars lost

The tragic incident made the project a laughingstock to some and angered others.

But Tom Saab, the president of the organization, doubled down on the dune.

“The dunes we built were sacrificial. They sacrificed themselves to protect the properties. Water didn’t go into people’s living rooms, destroy houses, destroy decks, patios and so on. So the dunes worked,” Saab said. “However, now we’re vulnerable to another nor’easter because we need to somehow replenish what we lost.”

On the Salisbury Beach Citizens for Change’s Facebook page, one person commented on a post about the sand dune debacle: “Your houses sit right on an ever rising and ever violent sea. Do you really think any amount of money will stop what’s inevitable?”

As weather patterns get more extreme and oceans get warmer, sea levels rise due to thermal expansion and weather patterns get more extreme, boosting coastal erosion. This climate crisis is now on the doorstep of Salisbury beach homeowners, as they suffer the consequences of rising sea levels, stronger winds and severe storms in recent months, including two in January.

“It was devastating,” Saab said about the recent storms. “Water went from the ocean into people’s living rooms and kitchens. Patios were destroyed. And at least one home was deemed uninhabitable.”

It’s a problem which Saab said should now officially be the responsibility of the government, as Salisbury is a public state beach and the area is susceptible to nor’easters and hurricanes due to its proximity to the Atlantic Ocean. So now his group is pushing for state assistance.

“You just need financial help from the state. And there’s a problem,” Saab said. “Governor [Maura] Healey’s administration is a major hindrance to protecting the beach.”

After several meetings with local and state government officials, including one on 14 March, Saab kept getting the same answer. The state has yet to pitch in financially for some kind of protection mechanism against the encroaching tides, the most recent of which was a record 14ft.

Saab said he suggested cheaper alternatives to protecting the homes, including filling plastic trash bags with sand to create a barrier or sand harvesting, which Saab described as a fairly simple and much more affordable option.

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