SACO — The city is moving forward to replace Geotubes with a metal seawall to help protect erosion along Surf Street. 

The coastal area of Camp Ellis has long been the target of coastal erosion. The Saco Jetty, a 7,000 foot structure built in the late 1800s that extends into Saco Bay from the mouth of the Saco River, has been blamed for disrupting the natural flow of sand and causing erosion. 

The federal government in 2007 earmarked $27 million for a project to mitigate the impact of the jetty, but funds haven’t been administered and a project has yet to be approved. 

In 2007, the city received approval from the Maine Department of Environmental Protection to install Geotubes, which look like giant sandbags, along Surf Street between Eagle and Fairhaven Avenues to help protect the shoreline from storm events that bring high waves and winds. 

Though the Geotubes did offer protection from storm events, they have endured wear and tear over the years.

The city last week received approval from the state DEP on a design for a metal sheet pile wall to replace the Geotubes, said Public Works Director Patrick Fox. 

Fox said city officials plan to get the new seawall installed on the same footprint as the Geotubes between mid April and June 1 to avoid construction during the summer season. 

The seawall is part of a $250,000 coastal erosion mitigation project that will be funded by a $2 million bond passed by residents in November.

Although the new proposed structure will provide more permanent protection to the area, it’s not the overall solution to erosion, said Fox.

“It’s just a Band-Aid,” he said. 

The area received much damage from the recent nor’easter, which brought astronomical high tides and heavy winds, damaging dune grass as well as roadways and other infrastructure. 

Fox said several roads in the city’s coastal neighborhoods need to be rebuilt, and the city had more than $500,000 in damage to city infrastructure, said Fox.

He said the Geotubes had served their purpose, but the city had thought there would be a solution in place to mitigate the jetty by now. He said if a project to mitigate erosion from the Saco jetty is further delayed, the city may need to look at extend stabilization projects further up the coast. He said until a project is put in place to offset erosion to the jetty, the city can only put in Band Aid solutions. 

— Staff Writer Liz Gotthelf can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 325 or egotthelf@journaltribune.com.