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Texas Surfrider Foundation

P.O. Box 563

Liberty TX 77575

Lili at Surfside

Geotextile Tubes
A Position Paper from the Texas Chapter of the Surfrider Foundation

Surfrider Foundation has determined that "coastal armoring" including the use of "geotextile tubes" is detrimental to healthy coastal process. Although some advocate coastal armoring and geotextile tubes as a solution to erosion, the fact is that "hard structures" are a cause of increased shoreline erosion.

To put it simply, dunes protect the shoreline by absorbing the erosive energy of waves. Dunes, being irregularly shaped reflect and refract incoming waves in a changing and random pattern. Sand picked up by incoming waves absorbs wave energy. Movement of the sand and dunes by waves and storms protects the land and minimizes erosion naturally.

"Coastal armoring" (geotextile tubes, seawalls, breakwaters, etc) replaces natural dunes with hard, solid structures that can actually increase the erosion rate. They do this by virtue of their design. Geotextile tubes, sometimes called "sand socks," are woven fabric tubes filled with sand. Once filled they are very hard, and like seawalls present a flat surface to the waves.

This flat surface causes the waves (especially large storm waves) to rebound directly, with more force and speed, carrying more sand away from the beach they were supposed to protect. They do offer some measure of protection for the land behind them, but only until they are breached or "overtoped" by waves or storm surge, then they "contain" the surge and flooding of "protected property" may be submerged even longer.

The Gulf of Mexico Takes Out Another GeotextileTube

Post-Tropical Storm Fay Photos on the Texas Coast / Bluestein closeup West

September 2002, Bolivar Peninsula (Photos by: Texas General Land Office)

And Another

Post-Tropical Storm Fay Photos on the Texas Coast / Beach west of Rollover Pass

September 2002, Bolivar Peninsula (Photos by: Texas General Land Office)

The bottom line is that unless geotextile tubes are built behind the dunes of a healthy beach/dune system, each day they will contribute to the erosion of public beach. There is no magic bullet for coastal protection. Only a carefully designed, comprehensive program will protect the shore and preserve Texas Public Beaches.