Surf Street erosion control project

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A Newsletter by the City of Saco, Maine	November, 2008	Return to newsletter index

During the Patriot's Day Storm of 2006, the section of Surf Street between Eagle and Fairhaven streets received significant erosion damage. This section of beach has seen regular erosion of the last 10 years and has necessitated numerous sand replenishment to protect public and private property. Because of the magnitude of damages statewide as a result of the storm, the city received funding from Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to provide mitigation measures. The expectation for the project is the protection of property and to minimize the dune erosion until the permanent jetty project is constructed by the Army Corp of Engineers.

The City worked with FEMA, the Maine DEP, and Maine Geological Survey (MGS) departments to arrive at the best practical mitigation allowed under state law. The selected solution was the reconstruction of a sand dune system with a core constructed with an engineered "geotube". The geotube is in essence a series of sand filled fabric tubes. The tubes will be place in the Surf Street. Sand will be placed over the installed tube and dune grass will be planted on the dune in 2009. At completion the engineered sand dune will be indistinguishable from the adjacent dune to the south.

In August of 2008, the City received a Natural Resource Protection permit from the Maine Department of Environmental Protection for the construction of geotube project. The project was bid in September of 2008 and Shaw Brothers of Gorham was awarded the bid for $313, 078. Construction began in early November and is expected to be finished in early January of 2009.