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PLUM ISLAND, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) — Newburyport City Councilor Mark Wright has seen firsthand the damage that beach erosion can cause on Plum Island.
During last year's Winter Storm Elliott, powerful flood waters and a lack of protection caused some homes on the 11-mile-long barrier island to become uninhabitable and in some cases subject to demolishment.
More than 200,000 cubic yards of sand of sand was dumped on Plum Island's northern end in January as a temporary solution, but Wright knows that it is merely delaying further erosion, not stopping it entirely.
"We’re trying to stay ahead of nature here," Wright told WBZ NewsRadio.
On Friday, Wright was one of several local, state, and federal officials who met for two hours with the Army Corps. of Engineers to discuss long-term fixes to keep the Atlantic Ocean at bay.
"The only way that we can move these projects forward is with that kind of collaboration, and right now the pressure is on because when the last grain of sand dropped on that beach, the clock began ticking," said Massachusetts Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr, who chaired the meeting. "It’s important that we all sit at the same table, we all hear the same information, we all discuss the same solutions, and I think this is a model for how we need to deal with coastal erosion throughout Massachusetts."
Ron Barrett, President of the Plum Island Taxpayers Association, was optimistic coming out of the meeting and agreed with Tarr that other coastal communities should take note.
"The Cape has the same problems, everybody has the same problem," Barnett said. "So I wish we could model this in our state, so it’s easier for every other community to do what we’re doing."
WBZ's Kendall Buhl reports.
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