Evaluation of the costs and benefits of natural and grey infrastructures for the protection of the Lake Erie shoreline

Zhe Luo, Deborah Beck, Scudder D. Mackey

In the proceedings of: GeoSt. John's 2019: 72nd Canadian Geotechnical Conference

Session: Professional Practice/Case Studies

ABSTRACT: Approximately 75% of Ohio Lake Erie shoreline is protected by grey infrastructures (such as seawalls and breakwaters), which can alter natural coastal processes and disrupt coastal ecosystems. Recently, natural infrastructures providing a more natural/sustainable shoreline environment have attracted interest in the coastal engineering community. However, a lack of research-based evidence demonstrating the long-term benefits of using natural infrastructures has limited their use and promotion. This study evaluates costs/benefits for adopting natural versus grey infrastructures to protect Lake Erie shorelines. A cost-benefit analysis comparing three natural infrastructures (vegetated sand dunes, beach nourishment, and living shorelines) and five grey infrastructures (seawalls, breakwaters, groins, bulkheads and revetments) provides a quantitative understanding of the long-term costs/benefits associated with each approach. A survey of local professionals shows the advantages of natural infrastructures in terms of cost savings and environmental/ecological protection.

RÉSUMÉ: digues et môles), données factuelles démontrant les avantages à long terme sont limitant leur utilisation et promotion. Cette étude Une analyse coûts-avantages a été utilisée pour comparer trois infrastructures naturelles (dunes de sable végétalisées, restauration de plages à l'aide de sable, et rivages vivants) et cinq infrastructures artificielles (digues, môles, murets, cloisons et revêtements) afin de fournir une compréhension quantitative des coûts et des avantages à long terme de infrastructures naturelles en termes de réduction des coûts et de protection de l'environnement.

Access this article:
Canadian Geotechnical Society members can access to this article, along with all other Canadian Geotechnical Conference proceedings, in the Member Area. Conference proceedings are also available in many libraries.

Cite this article:
Zhe Luo; Deborah Beck; Scudder D. Mackey (2019) Evaluation of the costs and benefits of natural and grey infrastructures for the protection of the Lake Erie shoreline in GEO2019. Ottawa, Ontario: Canadian Geotechnical Society.

@article{Geo2019Paper111,author = Zhe Luo; Deborah Beck; Scudder D. Mackey,title = Evaluation of the costs and benefits of natural and grey infrastructures for the protection of the Lake Erie shoreline,year = 2019}