Beach restoration involves the placement of sand on an eroded
beach for the purposes of restoring it as a recreational beach
and providing storm protection for upland properties.
Restoration is generally accomplished by bringing sand to the
beach from inland sites or adjoining beach segments, or by
hydraulically pumping sand onshore from an offshore site. The
linkages between development and the persistence of sandy
beaches are complex, and should be considered with care before
construction near sandy beaches is permitted or undertaken. If
dunes are leveled, vegetation removed, and/or solid jetties or
seawalls constructed, the likelihood of committing the owners to
repetitive and increasingly expensive beach restoration and
renourishment is heightened. Rebuilding a natural beach is
costly, and often ineffective. The forces precipitating the
erosion generally cannot be allayed by the act of restoration,
and in many cases the cycle inexorably begins anew. The failure
of restoration projects is often attributed