Beach Nourishment - (Coastal Storm Risk Management Project)

General Overview:

The Town of Surf City has been planning for a beach nourishment project for many years to preserve the biggest asset of the community, the beach itself, and to provide protection and resiliency during and after each hurricane season.  In January 2020, the Town of Surf City was awarded federal funds to complete a Coastal Storm Risk Management Project (beach nourishment).  

This project will be completed through working with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE).  The USACE will help develop and maintain the project utilizing expertise in science and engineering technology in order to reduce the risk of coastal storm damage and provide for the resilience of our shoreline.  This federal project will significantly increase the amount of sand on Surf City beaches by constructing a new dune that is projected to be 25 foot (ft) wide at an elevation of 15 ft above NGVD 29 and a berm with a crown width of 50 ft and a top elevation of 7 ft above NGVD 29.

WHERE WE ARE TODAY:

In early April 2023, Town Council had the opportunity to receive an update from the Wilmington District of the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) regarding the following status and projected timeline updates of the Surf City Coastal Storm Risk Management Project (Beach Nourishment). 

The Wilmington District is expected to complete a reevaluation report this year, which will then be sent to Headquarters in Washington, DC for final approval. We anticipate that approval to occur in December of this year (2023). We will have a much better understanding of the project schedule once Headquarters has provided this approval. 

The US Army Corps of Engineers anticipates having all necessary permits by the start of construction which is anticipated to begin in 2024. This will be the largest Coastal Storm Risk Management project to have been accomplished on the East Coast. The initial construction of the project is estimated to be a volume of 6.5 million cubic yards of sand with a rough order of magnitude (ROM) cost of approximately $170 million that will be cost-shared. 

History:

The original Chief's Report was completed in 2010 but did not have the funding to authorize the project. The project finally received funding in June 2019. 

In the summer of 2021, the project came to a halt when the Town of N. Topsail Beach withdrew from the project. 

Below you will find a current list of items that have been and are to be accomplished to push this project toward completion.