State: Beach Renourishment Necessary to Ensure Safe Summer

It's been more than 10 years since the beaches at Sherwood Island State Park were replenished with sand to avoid erosion.

Now the state has targeted the park's East and West beaches for a re-nourishment project — not only to deal with continued erosion but to protect the summer's swimmers from cutting their feet on rocks and the oyster shells that adhere to them.

Last summer, there were about 237 injuries reported at Sherwood Island State Park beaches. That's more than the number of injuries reported at the park the three years prior, said Sally Snyder, an environmental analyst for the state Department of Environmental Protection.

The injuries were largely caused by swimmers who cut their feet or legs on the beaches' rocky, sharp bottom, said Sarah Battistini, a DEP water safety coordinator.

"Anytime any of our park staff gives First Aid to someone, anything more than just handing them a Band-Aid, we fill out one of those reports," Battistini said. "Depending on how deep the cuts were, the guards recommend you see a doctor. I saw a few that definitely needed stitches."

Snyder approached the town of Westport's Shellfish Commission earlier this month to seek its permission for the project. The commission expressed its preliminary support and will be asking if some of the shellfish can be transplanted out of the area before the state begins the work. The commission will be able to review the final plans before the state proceeds. Snyder hopes to begin the re-nourishment project this spring.

Westport Conservation Director Alicia Mozian said the January meeting of the Shellfish Commission has been canceled due to a lack of agenda items, but if the state sends in its plans, the commission would hold a special session as necessary.

"I think there's a typical time frame for the process of three to four months, so we really need to get (the plans) in by the end of January, but I don't want to wait that long," Snyder said.

She hopes to move sand around by late April or early May, which would be in time for the summer season and also avoid disturbing the nesting and mating seasons
for threatened, endangered or Connecticut species of concern, such as the Piping Plover, Least Tern, Horseshoe crabs and the Tiger Beetle.

Instead of bringing in new sand, which is the state's usual methods, Snyder said the state plans to redistribute sand that's been moved by natural causes, such as storms.

"Our proposal is that because we have no monies, we want to take some of the sand that's been pushed toward the back of the beach and pull it down to cover the rocks and the shells," Snyder said at the shellfish commission meeting. "We don't plan on bringing any sand into the site. We're still determining how much sand is available and to what extent we can distribute it."

"If we had a billion dollars, we might have to re-orient something to protect the beach from eroding but we're not looking at long-term design," she continued. "We would like to, but we just don't have the resources to make that kind of investment right now. We're really just trying to keep us from having another unsafe summer."

Commissioners agreed they certainly needed to ensure the park is a safe place, but said they also need to be cognizant of the natural biology of Long Island Sound.

Longtime Westport resident Allen Raymond agreed.

"I'll be 87 in January, but .... I've lived here all my life and (West Beach) was a terrible spot," Raymond said, adding that it originally wasn't a public beach. "Those (oysters) are all over the place. Along the beach was a very high cliff; it still is and when I was a kid, we all stayed away from those (oysters and rocks) on West Beach. ... The problem is trying to change nature and I just think that nature always wins."

George Wisker, a DEP environmental analyst for the Office of Long Island Sound, said West Beach was not originally a beach and it's subject to erosion because of its orientation.

"It's hard to keep sand there naturally, so maintaining it artificially is necessary," Wisker said. "If we don't have severe storms and heavy winds and waves, it may last for a while."

If not, Snyder might be back before the commission sooner than expected.

In the meantime, Westport's Shellfish Commission awaits the final plans for the state's re-nourishment project. The project is expected to move forward in January.