Surfrider Foundation: Rincón, Puerto Rico

The Impact of Seawalls to Rincóns Beaches

Beaches are an incredibly dynamic system that are affected both by watershed processes such as natural erosion of the hills that supply sand to the beach and also by oceanic conditions such as wave climate and sea level rise. Beaches are a precious resource for many reasons; they are an extremely popular form of recreation, they provide a natural buffer against storm surf and they are also an important habitat for birds, turtles and many other species. Due to impacts in watersheds and sea level rise many beaches in the world are eroding, including many of the beaches in Rincón. Natural beach erosion doesn't reduce the size of the beach. Instead the beach tends to march towards the land. There is no problem with the health of the beach unless the beach erosion begins to encroach man-made development. Responding to beach erosion by the creation of seawalls can temporarily protect development, but ultimately results in the loss of the beach.

For example, the excellent scientific book regarding the health of Puerto Rico's shorelines entitled "Living with the Puerto Rico Shore" published in 1995 has a picture of the first rock and wire "seawall" constructed along the Balneario. This wall was an effort to maintain the seaward edge of the park, unfortunately that seawall has fallen apart and created a beach hazard. Directly south, a more substantial seawall was built which has all but destroyed the beach (see photos). This is a predictable and common result of building seawalls along the beach. To maintain wide sandy beaches for everyone's enjoyment and a healthy marine environment it is important to build far enough back from the beach that the slow erosion of approximately one foot per year can take place naturally.

Link to "How seawalls impact the beach"

More information on Seawalls:

Click here to read a paper on Beach Erosion and Coastal Development in Rincón (~4 MB)

Click here for a visual illustration of Passive Erosion: Reference: From Bush, D.M., et al., 1995, Living with the Puerto Rico Shore: Pilkey, O.H. and Neal, W.J. (eds), Duke Univ. Press, Durham, NC, 193 pp.

Click here to see information from the Surfrider Foundation's State of the Beach report.

Click here for Rod's page full of links to useful information on Puerto Rico's coastline.

Click here for the Rincón section from the book, Living with the Puerto Rico Shore, by David M. Bush, et al, pp. 100-105.

Photos below: A seawall's impacts to the beach at the Balneario

beach photo

From Living with the Puerto Rico Shore David M. Bush et. Al, 1995: A 'gabion' seawall built at the Balneario "(the wrong choice for the wrong reason)." - quoted excerpt from pg. 103.

Deteriorating condition of "seawall" in 2001

Further deterioration of gabion and continued erosion in 2004

another failing seawall

Seawall built behind failed gabion is now also failing in 2005. The beach is largely gone.