Community weighs in on future of North Water Street seawall and beach

“We’re not proposing wholesale change, but what do we want the future to look like?” Woods Hole Project Manager Adam Finkle asked stakeholders at a hearing on the North Water Street seawall and beach on March 13.

Finkle and representatives from the Land Trust, which owns the property, gave a presentation on the site's current condition to about 40 community members assembled in Town Hall. Attendees then provided input to help shape potential future improvements to the deteriorating seawall and its adjacent public beach.

Last year the Land Trust received an $85,000 grant from the state office of Coastal Zone Management to conduct a feasibility study on replacing the seawall.

The grant allowed the trust to bring in Finkle and the Woods Hole Group, a Bourne-based environmental engineering firm to assess the condition of the seawall and evaluate the surrounding area.

The Woods Hole team documented the "environmental resources” on the property and identified the exact boundaries of the beach, salt marsh and dunes.

“The location and extent of those resource areas has a bearing on what you can and cannot do, regulations come into play relevant to proximity. It's better to get that background research done now,” Finkle said.

The study team is now in the process of wrapping up an assessment of the properties vulnerabilities and assessing things like potential future beach loss, flood exposure and storm impact.

In the next step of the project, the organizations will create a list of potential changes for the property described by Finkle as a “suite of alternatives.”

The input provided by community members on March 13 will impact the shape those potential changes take.

The first thing attendees highlighted was their desire to keep the beach public, emphasizing that it should be available to all.

“Our goal is to maintain public access to this beach in perpetuity,” said Land Trust Executive Director Alex Zollo.

Attendees did raise concerns about stairs and other access points along the beach.

“My husband and I have monitored the site and we’ve seen how it's changed, the stairs don’t work, they’re dangerous, it is a project that needs to be done,” said Community Preservation Committee Treasurer Sandy Slavin, who attended the meeting as a resident.

Several other attendees agreed with Slavin and highlighted rust and high drop-offs on access stairs as areas that needed attention.

“The exact location of the stairs may change, that is something we will be looking at when we offer the suite of alternatives,” Finkle said.

Attendees also drew attention to storm water concerns.

Two years ago, the town hired engineering firm Weston and Sampson to examine stormwater management on North Water Street, focusing on runoff flowing into the East River through two aging pipes.

Due to deteriorating leaching basins that posed safety hazards, the firm removed the basins and replaced the pipes with stones.

The firm paused the project because the next steps in the storm water management are dependent on the future plans for the seawall.

Attendees also asked that future plans include conveniences, like pet waste deposits.

Representatives from both organizations explained that they will not be building additional parking for the beach or property, something attendees supported.

Funding and a timeline for the project have yet to be determined but Finkle said permitting is likely to take at least two years. The initial $85,000 grant only covers the feasibility study.

“And then probably a bit more time moving into construction and at each step along the way there would be requests to different funding sources,” Finkle said.

The Land Trust will host another meeting in May to present the list of potential changes.