Bagging up our Sand.

[Dave Dillehay]

When a Strong Norte occurs it pulls lots of sand off our beach at the Villa Aldora To reduce the loss, which is difficult to replace, we fill most of it in sandbags for storage. I suspect other waterfront properties do the same.

Well, this storm passing off to Cozumel's East tonight and tomorrow is more of a problem than just sand. With a strong NW wind the diving will most likely be closed for all of Wednesday. The good news is there is a chance that Thursday might open for diving, with Friday clear. So it should be a short one.

DAVE DILLEHAY

 

[Shawn C]

Does this mean that you are not allowed to replace lost sand with anything other than sand you have bagged off your property? I'm curious how oceanfront properties deal with the loss of sand which, obviously, can greatly affect value and bookings... Just look at what the Occidental resort is having to deal with. They've lost so much beach that their pool is at great risk of falling into sea!

 

[Dave Dillehay]

Actually it is, for the Villa Aldora, more of an economic problem. You see, the only way to legally replace sand is to buy it from the municipal government at ridiculous prices. Much better to pay the labor to bag it!

Dave Dillehay

 

[Johnoly]

Much better to pay the labor to bag it!

I'm from Florida and many people are filling sand bags for excess rainfall. Some have a " Wall " of bags. If you get a chance, can you post a picture of your sand bags ?

This pict was from a house last year in my town.

 

[Dave Dillehay]

We just place the bags on the side of the property. WE get no surge at all, even from the great Wilma storm of 2005...the water is too deep to allow surge to push up. It is the waves that wash off the sand, and our concrete structures are impervious to the waves for the most part...no protection needed.

DAVE DILLEHAY

 

[JFS]

Does this mean that you are not allowed to replace lost sand with anything other than sand you have bagged off your property? I'm curious how oceanfront properties deal with the loss of sand which, obviously, can greatly affect value and bookings... Just look at what the Occidental resort is having to deal with. They've lost so much beach that their pool is at great risk of falling into sea!

Some years back, a couple of businesses on the west side decided to get some sand from the east beaches. They must have used an invisible dump truck because they drove through the security checkpoint that was there at night. There was some uproar later about under the table payoff to officials for this illegal grab of sand after photos were posted online.

 

[TooCold]

When I saw this documentary movie years ago it was a shocking eye-opener to me. I had no idea how much human activity is leading to the disappearance of beaches (and in some parts of the world, entire islands). Or how futile it is to try to preserve a beach by replacing lost sand...
Sand Wars (imdb)
Sand Wars (DVD at Amazon)
Although it's now 12 years old, and the current situation can only be worse, it's still an interesting and informative way to spend an hour.

 

[ggunn]

Beaches come and go (mostly go these days), and although it is contributory, human activity is not solely responsible for it.

But yes. some beaches are eroding rapidly. One example is the beach at Playa Bonita on Cozumel's east coast. I can remember when the building was 50 feet or so from the high tide line. Nowadays the waves break on the base of the foundation and the building is slowly breaking up and falling into the sea. I remember when Playa Bonita used to be The Naked Turtle; for many years it was a stop on our trek around the island, but now we just note its deterioration as we pass it by. It's very sad.

 

[DandyDon]

I enjoy visiting Sand Dune parks in the US. My fav is White Sands National Park in New Mexico. Those sands wouldn't work on a beach as they're evaporated gypsum. Rains wash it down from the surrounding mountains into the adjacent dead lake where it then blows north to form the dunes. I was allowed onto military property once and down to the lake to see hand size crystals.