Projects
These are installations as they were documented: what the coastline looked like before, what was placed in the water, and what the beach did afterwards. Dates are given as published; where a figure was never recorded it is marked [TBD].
An early version of the beach recovery system was deployed on a coastline in severe retreat, driven by wave action, tidal currents and the absence of natural sediment replenishment.
The pilot served as a proof of concept for geotextile containment structures designed to redirect wave energy and encourage deposition. Sand began accumulating naturally, tidal forces were moderated and beachfront areas stabilized.
The deployment laid the foundation for the modern Beach Recovery System, showing that passive, nature-assisted infrastructure could restore a natural beach profile over time.
Pre-installation, 1993 → After installation, 2000
Just north of the Federal Harbor in Manistee, the Coastal Accretion Engineering System sits in the water shortly after installation. Erosion was halted and the beach returned, providing a natural barrier protecting the Scotland Yard cottages.
Measured volumes for this site: [TBD]
Pre-installation, 1999 → One year after installation, 2000
Installation at the Saudi Aramco site was the first step toward restoring an eroded shoreline. One year later, natural sand had begun returning to previously eroded areas.
Measured volumes for this site: [TBD]
Before installation, 1998 → After installation, 2000
The newly installed system is visibly capturing and retaining sand along the shoreline; two years later it had begun restoring the previously lost nearshore beach.
Measured volumes for this site: [TBD]
Recorded in the Coastal Stabilization Proof of Concept package, with dated before-and-after photography for each site.
Before June 1986 · After August 1999
Federal harbour adjacent beach and dune restoration
Six layers of failed seawall were removed before the recovery system was installed. The site is now a vegetated dune, and the undercurrent stabilizers that reversed the erosion are buried beneath the sand they captured.
Before 19 December 1993 · After 11 August 1999
State project north of the federal harbour
Undercurrent stabilizers installed north of Scotland Yard Cottages. The project reversed beach erosion north of Orchard Beach State Park.
Before 1987 · After June 2000
Aerial before-and-after documentation
A narrow beach with limited dune width recovered to substantial beach widening and vegetative growth, with an improved dune and beach profile.
Before November 1985 · After August 1999
Meinert Park and Duck Lake, public beach and dune restoration
Visible improvement in dune grass, beach width and shoreline condition. At Duck Lake, severe erosion beside a rock revetment was reversed after the stabilizer system was installed.
Before and after, dates as recorded on site
Vanderplas beach restoration, Lake Michigan
Shoreline reinforced to reduce erosion and protect the bluff, restoring a stable, usable beach with improved access.
How the system works is set out on the Coastal Technology page, and the wider programme on What We Do.
