THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, July 10, 1995 TAG: 9507100025
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY DEBBIE MESSINA, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Long : 159 lines
With the long-awaited sand replenishment project two years away, if it comes at all, some Sandbridge residents are turning from bulkheads to a cheaper, short-term alternative to protect their homes.
Sandbags are now being used to prevent the pounding surf from drowning oceanfront houses, many of which remain vulnerable after a punishing northeaster crippled them last November.
Homeowners see sandbags as a way of buying a little time without paying the hefty price of bulkheads, the traditional line of defense in Sandbridge.
Sandbag installers admit they don't provide as much protection as bulkheads. But they say they're better than pushing sand up into dunes with bulldozers, another popular practice at Sandbridge.
Generally, sandbags cost about one-fourth the price of bulkheads. An average bulkhead at Sandbridge costs $50,000 to $70,000, whereas sandbags cost $12,000 to $16,000.
``Sandbags are less expensive; that's the up side,'' said Tom Fraim, president of the Sandbridge Coalition and chairman of the city's Erosion Commission. ``But the fact is, sandbags are more fragile. That's the down side.
``People are trying to balance the two in anticipation of sand.''
But proposed funding for beach nourishment - $9 million initially and $5.3 million every two to three years thereafter - is about as stable as the sand on which Sandbridge homes are built.
The sand project is in jeopardy because the federal government, which was slated to pick up 65 percent of the cost, is considering scaling back its funding of erosion control projects.
News of that trend hit Sandbridge residents nearly as hard as some northeasters; they finally won a 10-year battle with the city for the sand project only months before the announced cutbacks. In exchange for sand, Sandbridge property owners agreed to pay higher taxes to cover the city's 35 percent share of the bill.
Federal money for Sandbridge has been included in the budget now under consideration by the House Appropriations Committee, but it still must win approval from the full House as well as the Senate.
Despite the political wrangling in Washington, many Sandbridge residents are optimistic that a new blanket of sand will be spread on its beaches in the spring of 1997.
Until then, oceanfront properties ravaged by last November's two-day storm face a more immediate threat. A record 48 bulkheads were destroyed; 12 homes were condemned, primarily because of exposed or disconnected septic tanks; and five more homes were rendered structurally unsafe.
Those homeowners are responding in different ways, as a small stretch of oceanfront homes at the southern end of Sandbridge illustrates.
Monstrous machinery lifts, straightens and pounds back into place a mangled sheet-metal bulkhead that had been flattened by the storm in front of one home.
Two doors down, work crews are stuffing sand into huge white bags, resembling giant burritos, in front of a string of homes.
And between them is one cottage that's completely vulnerable to the ocean. Its owners have basically run out of cash and don't plan to do anything, except collect insurance money when the home finally washes away.
Rick Payne, owner of Beach Structures, said his company has kept busy in Sandbridge.
``People are putting money into houses out there now,'' Payne said. ``They're adding onto homes, replacing windows. Overall, citizens are not giving up.''
But Payne has. Although he isn't giving up on Sandbridge as a community, he's calling it quits on an oceanfront house he rents to vacationers. Every winter, his cottage is condemned by the city because erosion unearths the septic tank.
It was condemned again last year. But this time, it's more than just the septic system. The pilings are cracked.
``I'm giving up,'' Payne said. ``Every year I put more money into it. It's cheaper to let the government buy it now,'' under the federal flood insurance program.
``I'm going to stay off the oceanfront for a while.''
While some people like Payne are retreating, others like U.T. Brown are charging ahead.
Brown owns seven oceanfront homes for investment, including one he just bought. The previous owner, Brown said, didn't have enough money to make the necessary repairs.
``Since I just bought another one, that shows a little optimism,'' said Brown, who is reinstalling the downed bulkhead on his newest property. ``I have reservations. It's a little bit of a crap shoot.''
Linda Chappell so far has managed to beat those odds.
It's been several years since her oceanfront home sustained major damage, like the collapse of her garage floor. And while her septic tank has been in danger a few times, it has never been exposed.
What's more, she has never had a bulkhead because the cost was prohibitive. She also questions its effectiveness. She is considering sandbags but wonders about their durability.
``We say a prayer every night, and that's how we protect ourselves,'' Chappell said.
Of the 243 oceanfront properties at Sandbridge, 170 have bulkheads. Last November's storm destroyed 48 of those bulkheads.
The city has sent letters to 43 owners of bulkheads that are still damaged, stating that the bulkheads pose a safety hazard and must be removed or repaired.
The letter instructs homeowners to begin repairs or removal within 30 days or the city will do the work and send them a bill. Work must be completed within 90 days.
``Whole sections of wall have essentially become battering rams in the surf,'' Phillip J. Roehrs, a city coastal engineer, said about wooden bulkhead remnants. These wood planks, with protruding nails, also lie around the beach.
As for steel bulkheads, they're leaning onto the sand with rusted bolts sticking out.
``This is the first time we've had to give this kind of notice,'' Roehrs said. ``It's something we don't want to do, but we can't sit around and watch a public hazard go unaddressed.''
The city also has taken the lead on the new sandbag movement in Sandbridge. It was the first to install sandbags at Sandbridge this spring when it placed them along the 3100 block of Sandfiddler Road, which typically washes out in fierce storms.
Sandbags are considered experimental in Sandbridge, where they risk being punctured during a storm by flotsam - primarily washed-out sections of bulkheads and access stairways.
The 5-by-10-foot bags are pumped full of sand, about 5 tons, then stacked in a pyramid between the shoreline and the home.
Because of the soft material and pyramid structure, the force of the waves is softened compared to slamming solid bulkheads.
``We liken it to a sponge,'' said Paul Waff, owner of Waff Contracting in Edenton, N.C., one of two companies sandbagging parts of Sandbridge. ``Think of water hitting a sponge vs. hitting a piece of drywall. The sandbags in our structure tend to break the waves up.''
Bulkheads, on the other hand, send the wave energy up over the bulkhead straight toward the home it's protecting, or underneath, which weakens the bulkhead's support system.
Sandbags, however, aren't as durable. Their life expectancy is three to eight years, Waff said.
``You have to expect to do some repairs, patching a hole here and there,'' he said. ```But based on what we've seen, it's not as drastic a failure as a bulkhead. And it's cheaper to repair.''
Waff is one of the largest firms providing sandbags in the region, having placed them around North Carolina's Cape Hatteras Lighthouse last year and along Route 12 three years ago. Both projects, he said, have held up well.
But the real test will be this year's hurricane season and winter northeasters, which some experts have predicted will be the worst in decades.
``For 360 days a year, it's delightful living in Sandbridge,'' said Charles W. Learned, an oceanfront homeowner.
``But for five days a year, it's sheer terror.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color staff photos by CHARLIE MEADS
A hole dug behind an oceanfront home in Sandbridge will be filled
with sandbags in an effort to prevent the pounding surf from
overtaking it.
Employees of J&T Construction of Virginia Beach fill huge sandbags
around a home in the 3200 block of Sandfiddler Road.
B\W photo
Al Waff of Waff Contracting in Edenton, N.C., stands by some of the
5-by-10 bags being stacked on the Sandbridge shoreline.
KEYWORDS: SANDBRIDGE EROSION
by CNB