The U.S. Beach Nourishent Experience
Including New England, East Coast Barrier Islands, Pacific Coast, and Gulf of Mexico Shorelines
The Western Carolina University PSDS beach nourishment database is the result of over 15 years of ongoing research and data collection. The information in our database represents, to the best of our knowledge, the most comprehensive compilation of beach nourishment history in the United States.
Under constant revision, the nourishment catalog contains locations, primary funding sources, volumes (in cubic yards), length (in feet upon which sand was deposited) and actual costs for most documented nourishment episodes. It should be noted that complete information is not available in every case, due to data discrepancies and availability, and we encourage you to inform us if you discover incorrect or overlooked data. Please feel free to also inform us of ongoing nourishment projects of which you may be aware.
Our principle goal, as scientific advocates, is to provide a source of comprehensive information to all stakeholders involved in the beach nourishment debate. Coastal planners, legislators and lobbyists, community members and coastal residents, researchers, engineers and students alike will find this national database a useful tool since much of the data formerly available has been local in nature. Local policy analysts and decision makers can glean important lessons learned by applying and comparing cost and volume statistics of other regions.
Explanation of Funding Category:
A primary funding type or category (where available) is listed for each nourishment episode (e.g. Federal or Local). For federally funded, congressionally authorized projects, this indicates that the funding source was the largest contributor, although local or other sources likely provided funding in a minority share.
Explanation of Cost Figures:
Actual Cost (where available) refers to actual dollars spent in the year the episode was completed. When no documented cost could be obtained for individual episodes, an average cost figure may be used. These average cost figures were calculated as an average (per cubic yard of fill) of all other nourishment episodes within the same funding category and/or geographical region.
Data Download:
The PSDS beach nourishment database is currently available for download (in Microsoft Excel file format) by individual state.