Pevensey Bay - sustainable management

Where is Pevensey Bay

East sussex coast

Geographical context

- Low lying area of softer sediment

- Between sandstone at Hastings and chalk of the south downs

- Shingle

Coastal Processes that occur here

- Sea level rise

- Wave action

- LSD (beach material going NE, creating beaches that are parrallel to teh waves)

- Net loss of 25000m^3 of sediment per year

- Beaches are flatter after storm events.

Current sea defenses

- Organised by a public-private partnership scheme

- removed each timber groyne as it fails

- Crest height of 6m

Sea defences are protecting...

- Permanent flooding of 50km^2, including communities in Pevensey Bay, Normans Bay, Langley and Westham

-10,000 properties

- recreational and commercial sites

- A259 coastal road

- numerous livestock and farms

- Two nature reserves

Beach Maintenance strategies - Recharge

- Sovereign Harbour interupts the west to east movement of LSD

- 25000m^3 still transported

- Lorries take 5000 back each year, but the other 20000 is dredged from the sea floor

- All 20000 is left in situ and LSD is allowed to redistribute the sediment across the beach

- This natural method saves time and money

Beach Maintenance strategies - Recycling

- Some areas of the coast have net accumulation, others have net loss of sediment

- DUmptrucks and lorries are used to remove sediment from areas of gain

- Recycling is required, especially after storms, such as the winter of 2013-14 storm.

- Also required when conditions do not allow dredging to occur near to the shore.