Yorktown Beach Monitoring

About the Program

Category: Risk and Emergency Management (Best in Category)

Year: 2009

The Yorktown beach is a key attraction and recreational asset for York County residents and visitors, and as such, must be maintained on a continuous basis from early spring to late fall each year. Even though the beach is “engineered” with protective structures, it is still susceptible to both natural sand migration and damage from major storms. Therefore, it requires a program of periodic monitoring and beach sand re-nourishment, as necessary. One requirement of the maintenance program is a system of routinely recording sand loss or gain over time, relative to the design conditions, and a means of displaying the results. Having a visual tool is important as it show maintenance crews where, why, and how to focus their efforts, and it is vital for explaining losses and justifying financial assistance from agencies such as the Federal Emergency Management Agency after natural disasters. York County staff developed such a tool using a new surveying instrument, simple office software, and some surveying skills. They are now able to provide a visual representation as well as volumetric data quickly and easily at a much reduced cost compared to contract efforts.