Erosion threatens Wrightsville Beach dunes after large waves and storm surge

NEW HANOVER, NC (WWAY) — 8:45 am, high tide on Wrightsville Beach; the rumbling seas drew photographers and their subjects — local Wrightsville Beach residents and surfers Eric Mercer and Stacy Hackney.  

“The waves were a little messy, but variable wind today, first day in a long time,” said Mercer.   

While the surf is a blessing for surfers, it’s a curse for the coastline on Mallard Street near Johnny Mercer’s Pier.   

Wednesday’s high tide line encroached on the sand berm, exposing recently planted sea grass and its roots.    

Roots that hold the sand together.  

“I mean, this is pretty typical after a big storm, you get a big washout,” said Hackney.  

The menacing tides and waves are stirred up by a potentially damaging trifecta: a full moon, a king tide, and unsettled tropical weather in the Atlantic.   

“There is definitely an increased energy coming to the shore from the storms,” said Mercer.    

And that “energy” is taking a toll on an elevated sand dune and the seagrass that hold it together.    

The water has eroded big clumps of sand, creating an escarpment.   

In some places, three to four feet high.   

You can see how the repeated pounding has exposed the fragile root system.  

“They planted those grasses a couple of years ago, after they did that last renourishment, and it’s holding up the beach right there,” said Hackney.  

The Army Corp of Engineers renourished this portion of the beach in December 2023, using bulldozers and a massive pipe to suck sand from Masonboro Inlet onto the shore.    

But that work is compromised by these kinds of weather events. 

The Town of Wrightsville Beach told WWAY that it relies on federal funding to fix eroded beaches.   

“Wrightsville Beach relies on federal funding to support beach nourishment projects every four years. Until the next scheduled nourishment project, it is largely a waiting game.”   

A waiting game that locals are all too familiar with.  

“With the storms that we’ve had and the waves, and tides, wind, it’s pretty typical,” said Hackney.