Assesment of alternative beachfill placement on surfing resources

In February 2009, a 700,000 cy, $9 million beach nourishment project was completed in Long Branch, New Jersey. The beach fill was constructed using an innovative feeder beach design, rather than a standard linear fill template. The feeder beach design was adopted to address the concerns of local surfing groups by initially burying fewer structures, and by potentially creating additional surfing opportunities through enhanced bar formation during the equilibration process. Nine months of monitoring results show that roughly 84% of the placed material can be accounted for within the project area and on the downdrift beaches. The immediate impact of the fill on the local surfing conditions was negative within the project area as steep slopes, violent plunging breakers, and narrow surfzones limited the use of the feeder beach area; however traditional surf spots to the north and south were unaffected by the nourishment due to the concentrated nature of its placement. More recently, as the post-nourishment slopes have begun to equilibrate, surfing conditions have improved markedly within the project area, while the up drift and down drift beaches remain relatively unaffected.