After imploring the town to improve a neighborhood beach, some Onset residents have found that fighting city hall is like fighting the tide: you can't.

The residents have been waiting for six years to get their neighborhood East River Beach back, and it looks like they may have some more waiting to do.

In 2011, the town put a drainage pipe in the small beach that drains into the water. Now, property owners in Onset feel they cannot go swimming there with their families because of the supposed hazard.

Paul Deslauriers lives right near this beach and said he has written letters and appeared before the Board of Selectmen for many years with little result.

“They seem to ignore us,” Deslauriers said.

The water flowing into the small beach is all treated, Town Administrator Derek Sullivan said. But East River Beach is “not one of the best bathing spots around.” He said more resources are going into the nearby Onset Beach.

“I understand they would like to have that,” Sullivan said. “But they’re steps away from a world-class beach.”

Selectmen Chair Peter Teitelbaum agreed.

“There’s a reason Onset Beach is the beach,” Teitelbaum said.

Richard Macnevin, another Onset resident, said he has the solution to the problems with the pipe. It should be put under a nearby parking lot so it no longer poses a tripping hazard, he said.

Patty Whiting lives nearby and said she recently saw a little boy playing around the pipe and was concerned for his safety. Whiting said she is afraid to walk along the beach because she might trip over the pipe.

Though not many people swim at the small beach anymore, Macnevin said the beach used to hold at least 100 people and that it is being used “increasingly” now.

The residents have other complaints about the way the beach has been treated over the years. Deslauriers said rocks were dumped onto the beach and never removed. No sand has been added to the beach, so it remains rocky. The sea wall at the beach is slowly eroding and selectmen have not responded to requests to repair it, though Sullivan said the town relies on grants for sea wall repairs. Deslauriers also wants the town to take a few hours each week to rake the beach.

“They just don’t seem to be responsive to a taxpayer anymore,” Macnevin said.

Deslauriers keeps a thick folder of all the letters he has sent town officials over the years.

“I’m almost ready to throw in the towel after ten years,” Deslauriers said. He said he feels ready for someone else to take up the cause of the little beach.

Sullivan said there are no plans to make changes to the area in the foreseeable future.

“I understand their frustrations,” Sullivan said. “We’d love to do this kind of thing for all our beaches, but it’s not feasible.”

Onset residents are adamant that a few repairs could go a long way to improving the beach and making it a welcoming place for families.

“Onset is probably the most vital area of Wareham,” Macnevin said.