Wrightsville Beach
Many students choose UNCW for the beautiful beaches Wilmington has to offer. In order to keep these beaches from erosion the federal, state, and locals pay money for various projects to keep the beach clean and to prevent from erosion. However, it seems that beach erosion control projects along New Hanover County’s beaches are in danger of losing funding. Congress funds money for these projects in order to keep our beaches clean and protected from erosion; however, they are threatening to decrease the amount of money being donated.
A while back, the Bush administration planned to cut federal money that helped pay for clean and erosion protected beaches. The county’s three beach towns threatened to sue if their funding was cut. Their threat was noticed by the Army Corps of Engineers and they ensured that funding wouldn’t be cut without permission from Congress. Now, it is just a waiting game to see if the money needed to keep these beaches clean and to prevent from erosion will continue. This is important especially for Wrightsville because the Federal government pays 65% of the sand that is pumped on the beaches in order to keep erosion at bay.
While state and local money help the cause, federal money is what has been fueling beach erosion control projects. Without federal dollars for these projects, money would run out in 2030. But, if the state stops funding these projects, the money will run out in 2020. Right now, New Hanover County is fighting to keep these funding for these various projects. If not, we are looking to see serious erosion on the beaches in New Hanover County within the next 45 years. State representative, Mr. Caitlin, states that, “The purpose is to let them know how serious we are about this. It truly is not a casual policy change. It’s devastating for our county.” This is all happening now and can seriously affect the people living in beach towns. Not just in Wrightsville but at Carolina beach, Topsail beach, and Kure beach. Keep yourself informed and don’t take our beaches for granted!
Information from: http://wrightsville.com/suefeds.htm