Erosion a Major Concern in Plymouth

Between the Blizzard of 2013 and wave after wave of snow storms, nor'easters, and rain, erosion is again a major concern in Plymouth.

Jonathan Beder, the town's director of public works has his hands full keeping the Eel River cleared of silt as well as making sure the bluffs in Manomet and Cedarville stay intact.

Town Manager Melissa Arrighi told NECN that the town takes the maintenance of its coastline seriously:

"We have 26 miles of coastline so we are very concerned about the erosion,"  Arrighi told NECN.

On Long Beach, the earth moving equipment is tasked with removing tons of sand that got blown over the seawalls here, blocking drainage of the all-important Eel River.

"Once it is all blocked, it creates a quite a bit of upstream flooding so we are trying to alleviate that," said David Gould, Plymouth's Director of Marine and Environmental Affairs.

There are three areas of concern: Long Beach, Whitehorse Beach and the area of the cliffs in South Plymouth.

All have taken a battering.

"We beach and a New England community and a coastal community we have to be able to commit to that and I think the town's people have, every-time we have gone to them seeking funds, for the most part they have supported that," said Arrighi.

Right now, the storm has cost the town $560,000, and that's not including assistance some 70 homeowners have asked for property damage.

And those costs could go up.

"Depending upon the winter we could be out here, two or three or four times, other winters aren't so bad but it's difficult to plan for Mother Nature obviously," said Gould.

The town has asked residents and business owners to report property damage resulting from the Blizzard of '13 in order to determine the town's eligibility for a Federal Disaster Declaration.