Coastal Erosion Attitudes – 98569

Image above: July 6th, 2024. Looking over the jetty that connects to Damon Point on the far end. We are near the end of the jetty adjacent to the Wastewater Treatment Plant.

The 1916 jetty now sits offshore.

Jetty Adjacent to Damon Point

The jetty adjacent to Damon Point appears to be neglected/not maintained over the years. This first got my attention when going down there to walk at Damon Point. The public beach access needs improvement.

Below: Public access for beach walkers at Damon Point.

This local news article describes “coastal erosion” and “…rising sea levels due to climate change…” as part of the story.

Another local article below, tells us the jetty closest to the Damon Point parking area was installed in 1916.

Question for newspeople: What has been done to maintain the jetty since then?

Part two of two in a series:

Nov 2, 2023 The Daily World

A 100-year old jetty used to protect Ocean Shores. Can new technologies save its south end?

“In 1916, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers completed the construction of Grays Harbor’s North Jetty, a three mile-long berm of boulders jutting into the Pacific, hugging and holding the entire southern shoreline of Ocean Shores. The body of water now known as Oyhut Bay did not exist.”

Grays Harbor did not encroach inland of the 1916 jetty?

Different story over at Westport

Concerns Re: tsunami zone, global warming, sea level rise, climate crisis, king tides, coastal erosion, El Niño/La Niña and winter storms do not get in the way of keeping things maintained on the working waterfront at Westport. Well done.

Above: Posted near the Westport Light Trail, a description of how the jetty on the Westport side has been maintained over the years.

What would Westport look like if efforts to maintain the coast were suspended?

Damon Point once had:

A state park.

Suitable public access for beach walkers.

At Damon Point, the Ocean shores side once had an active marina with a restaurant, cocktail lounge and salmon charter boat outings. The Silver King Motel was there too.

At Damon Point, the Ocean Shores side once had a ferry to Westport. People liked it. It was shut down because:

“…too much sand and silt built up around the Ocean Shores marina, the El Matador was forced to cancel trips across the harbor.”

Imagine telling the fishing boat captains over at Westport that their access to a 100 year old armor-plated harbor was going to be let go.

DredgeWire news update:

Nov 7, 2023

“In 2024 the Army Corps will begin work on a $17 million federally-funded project to repair about 7,500 feet of the jetty, protecting the west side of the peninsula, including the Ocean Shores wastewater treatment plant. The scope of that project does not include repairs to the old jetty submerged in Oyhut Bay.”

Recent Beach Walk

Image above: Taken on July 6th, 2024 from the public access trail adjacent to the Ocean Shores Wastewater Treatment Plant.