How Galveston Plans On Restoring Sand To Its Beaches

Galveston Island in Texas has gone through many changes since Hurricane Ike made landfall on September 13, 2008

. Beach erosion is among the many things that have been affected by the massive destruction and devastation that Ike caused. The beautiful Galveston beaches along the seawall that residents and tourist have come to love have been vanishing.

The storm surge and strong tides that accompanied Hurricane Ike took much of the sand out to the gulf. Estimates up to fifty and sixty feet of beach erosion in some areas have been reported. Due to this latest erosion according to the Texas General Land Office, an emergency restoration project was needed. There have been sand restoration projects in the past due to natural erosion, but this multi-million dollar project that Galveston Island has underway right now is certainly it's biggest and by far it's most important.

Galveston Island depends on money from tourist every year to boost it's local economy and no sandy beaches would be extremely devastating. According to a local study in 2007, tourism provided nearly $15 million in hotel taxes and that has dropped by more than fifty percent since Hurricane Ike. Tourist are also responsible for one third of all the tax revenue in Galveston. It's safe to say that without sand on the beaches, the tourist would not show up. Even though there are many other attractions for people that plan vacations on Galveston Island to enjoy, the tourist expect to spend some sunny days on the beaches.

Beach activities such as swimming, surfing, beach volleyball and sand castle building are big attractions to vacationers and the locals. With this huge emergency restoration project underway on Galveston Island, we all should be able to continue to enjoy all those activities.

According to the Texas General Land Office, over two miles of beaches will be restored in front of the Galveston seawall. Sand is being swept from the floor of the channel in a mining operation along the jetties and then is being pumped through a mile long pipeline to the beaches. Eventually around 4,000 cubic yards will be mined just offshore and moved onshore for this restoration project.

Not only is sand being replaced along the Galveston seawall, the sand that survived Ike is being cleaned. Sand is being taken off the beach anywhere from 8-12 inches in dept and is being sent through a huge screen. The screen separates and removes all the debris from the sand. Once this process is completed the clean sand is returned to the beach. This process allows the beaches to be clean and debris free.

This restoration project should be completed by the end of March or the beginning of April 2010. For residents of Galveston Island and tourists that visit Galveston in the future they will have a beautiful beachfront of clean sand to enjoy. With spring and summer approaching this should be great news for Galveston and for the tourist that are planning a trip to Galveston. Restoration has always been essential for Galveston beaches and with a lot of hard work from people that care, the beaches should look and feel better than ever.

This is just one more thing among many that Galveston Island and it's residents have had to overcome because of Hurricane Ike. After this project is completed we should be able to enjoy the sandy beaches for many years to come. So why not plan a vacation this spring or summer to visit the Island and enjoy all that new clean sand along the Galveston seawall.

by: Alan Pereyra

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