Hampton Beachfront and

Shoreline Management
Hampton
p
Waterways
Committee
February 15, 2011

Rebecca S. Francese
Rebecca S.  Francese, REM
, REM

Management Goals

z Storm Protection/Damage Reduction

z Flood Protection / Damage Reduction
z Recreation
z Habitat Preservation/Enhancement

The priority may vary depending on the individual

reach or section of shoreline.

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 Study Area

Shoreline Management
Challenge (Ownership)
¾ Bay Fronting Shoreline ~ 8.3
8 3 Miles
(South tip of Fort Monroe to Factory Point)
z Federal Fort Monroe (29%)
z Public Buckroe,
Buckroe, Salt Ponds, Grandview Nature
Preserve (44%)
z Private Thimble Shoals Court, Malo Beach,
White Marsh,, Grandview
G (27%)
( %)
¾ Fort Monroe and the Nature Preserve (59%) are roughly the
same length at opposite ends of the shoreline.
¾ Central 41% of the shoreline is interspersed private and
public ownership – with an inlet segmenting the reach.

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 Shoreline Management
Challenge (Higher Storm Tides)
¾ Higher Tides / Greater Storm Impacts
• The current average highest monthly water level is
almost 0.5 ft higher than in 1980 (based on simple trend
analysis).
• Seven (7) of the top ten highest tide events have
occurred in the past ten years and Ten (10) of the top
twenty high tide events have occurred in the past 20
years.
• Only one top twenty storm occurred in the 1970’s , one
top twenty storm occurred in the 1980
1980’s and three in the
1990’s.

Challenge (Coastal Processes)

¾ Average erosion rate of about -2 to -3 ft/yr – hotspots or
highly eroded areas mixed with stable areas

Beach Morphology

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Sediment Transport

Aeolian

Overwash/
Inlet

Fetch/
Wave Energy
Northeast and Northwest
Bay Internal – 25%
Bay-Internal
Greatest waves – highest
energy
Generates currents to the
south

Southeast and Southwest

Bay-External – 75%
Typically smaller waves
Generates currents to the
north

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 Net
Longshore
Transport
¾ North of Lighthouse Point
– the “net” transport is to
the north (8,000 to 12,000
cy/yr)
¾ South of Lighthouse Point
– the “net” transport is to
the south (15,000 cy/yr to
20,000 cy/yr) – though
there are seasonal
reversals and localized
hotspots.

Shoreline Management
Strategies
Hold the Line (Flooding and Storm Impacts)
z Hard shoreline alternatives – seawalls and

revetment
z Enhanced Dunes ( (geotube
geotube or rock cores)
Shoreline Buffers (Storm Impacts)
z Beach re-
re-nourishment and living shorelines
Hydrodynamic
y y / Process Altering
g ((Storm Impacts
p
and Typical Processes)
z breakwaters, groins, jetties

z Possibly near shore reefs/near shore disposal

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 Shoreline Management
Strategies (Continued)
Composite Strategies
z Combination of strategies

z Typically some form of beach nourishment and

a process altering ((ie

ie.. breakwater) or “hold the
line” ((ie
ie.. Revetment)

“Do Nothing” or Shoreline Retreat

z Allow the shoreline to move back to a natural

state
z At times – this is the most practical solution or

may be applied in a conservancy setting.

Shoreline Management
Buckroe Beach Bulkhead
¾ Buckroe Beach Bulkhead was designed g in 1967
and constructed during the late 1960s.
¾ The bulkhead has been rere--evaluated several
times during the past 20 years…and it has been
determined that it was near the end of its useful
….however, the bulkhead has continued to
protect the upland properties during the recent
period of storm impacts…probably due to the
beach nourishment project.

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 Shoreline Management
Buckroe Beach Bulkhead

Shoreline Management
Grandview Revetment
¾ Grandview seawall / revetment was constructed
initially during the 1960’s
1960 s and has continued
throughout the present.
¾ The revetment was constructed of numerous types
of building materials including concrete block and
various size stone.
¾ The revetment has “held the line” for many years,
but over the y years the beach profile in front of the
structure has steepened and deepened.
¾ As a result, during storms – larger waves can impact
the shoreline structure at that location than other
segments of the Hampton shoreline.

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 Shoreline Management
Grandview Revetment

Shoreline Management
Geotube at Salt Ponds Beach
¾ In Ju
July,
y, 1998
998 - 2,000
,000 ftt of
o geote
geotextile
t e tube was
as
filled with sand dredged from Salt Ponds
Channel.
¾ The geotube was established along the upper
limits of the public beach at Salt Ponds. A dune
system was constructed over top of the tube and
sprigged with American beachgrass.
beachgrass.
¾ The geotube project served as a dune
restoration project for the public beach and also
as a revetment along the upper limits of the
public beach.

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 Shoreline Management
Geotube at Salt Ponds Beach

Shoreline Management
Beach Renourishment
¾ Several small rere--nourishment projects were
constructed
t t d in
i the
th 1980s
1980 – as partt off dredging
d d i
maintenance at the Salt Ponds Channel.
¾ Major beach rere--nourishment project constructed
in 1990 at public beach in Buckroe (224,000 cy).
¾ Beach re
re--nourishment project constructed in
1996 (60,000 cy) along the north end of the
public beach at an “erosional
“erosional hotspot.”
¾ Large scale federal project constructed in 2003
along Buckroe Beach and Salt Ponds.

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 Shoreline Management
Beach Renourishment

Shoreline Management
Groins
¾ Constructed by y the Corps
p of Engineers
g
during the early
early--1960s after the Ash
Wednesday Storm.
¾ Approximately 20 structures were
constructed along the Hampton Shoreline.
¾ The g
groins have been past
p their useful life
since the early 1980s.
¾ The cost of repair at the time exceeded
any potential benefits.

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 Shoreline Management
Groins

Shoreline Management
Buckroe Avenue Breakwater
¾ In 2001, a 250 ft breakwater was constructed at
the end of Buckroe Avenue in the middle of the
public beach at Buckroe

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 Shoreline Management
Point Comfort Ave. Breakwater
¾ In 2010, a 250 ft breakwater was constructed at
the end of a Point Comfort Avenue on the public
p
beach in Buckroe.
Buckroe.

Shoreline Management
Salt Ponds Jetty System
¾ North Jetty constructed by the City of Hampton
in 1976 as part of the Salt Ponds Development.
¾ South jetty was actually an existing groin.
¾ The south jetty was replaced and lengthened in
late 2005 / early 2006.
¾ Recommendations have been made for
improvement to sand tighten and possibly
lengthen the north jetty and re-
re-construct the
sand trap.

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 Shoreline Management
Salt Ponds Jetty System

Shoreline Management
Breach Restoration
¾ Factoryy Point was breached during g a northeaster
in 1997. With continued storms – the breach
widened significantly until the Point was an
island completely separated from the Preserve.
Preserve.
¾ ~145,000 cy of sand was dredged and pumped
from the shoal to reconnect the island.
¾ Five breakwaters were constructed to help p
stabilize the beach.
¾ The project also included navigation
improvements…widened/straightened channels,
new consistent dayboards,
dayboards, etc.

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 Shoreline Management
Breach Restoration

1994 2004

2010

Other Municipalities
City of Virginia Beach
¾ Federal beach renourishment project at both the
Oceanfront and Sandbridge
Sandbridge.. Project also
included the Seawall along the resort strip. No
other hardened structures.
¾ Entire oceanfront is public beach.
City of Norfolk
¾ Series of breakwaters along the Chesapeake Bay
shorefront (Municipal and State Funding).
¾ Entire Chesapeake Bay beach is public beach.

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Fort Monroe to Buckroe Beach

South Buckroe to Malo Beach

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Salt Ponds to White Marsh

Grandview to Lighthouse Pt.

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 Factory Point

Shoreline Management
Strategy Planning
¾ Purpose or Intent of Strategy
¾ Coastal Processes Specific to the
Management Area
¾ Impact of Environmentally Protected Area or
Regulatory Issues
¾ Shoreline Ownership (Public or Private)
¾ Cost and Where is the Money Coming From
and Who does it benefit?

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