Low Wave Energy Shoreline Stabilization

Emerald Isle, NC

A landowner’s shoreline in Emerald Isle, NC had been eroding due to wind fetch and storm surges in Core Sound. Storm events and surges destroyed a bulkhead and washed away the shoreline in front of the bulkhead. The landowner planned to reconstruct the bulkhead, and he wanted another layer of property protection in front of the bulkhead to prolong its longevity.

The North Carolina Coastal Federation secured grant funding to implement a demonstration project of installing wave attenuation options ‘seaward’ of the bulkhead. The project involved implementing 200 feet of shoreline projection with 100 feet of oyster bags and 100 feet of the Reefmaker technology that was modified for lower energy wave environments. The oyster bags were installed in November 2019, and the low energy Reefmaker was installed in December 2019.