One of the many joys of Oak Bluffs is its in-town beaches. They are free, open to the public and within walking distance of the downtown and historic neighborhoods. The beaches are one of the town’s most valuable recreational, natural and economic resources.

The parks commission has made many recent improvements at the two beaches informally known and Pay and Inkwell, including new stairs, ADA accessible walking mats, a beach wheelchair, the return of lifeguards, and planting to protect the dunes. The parks commission deserves much credit for the work they have done, with limited funds, to improve the beach experience. The parks commission works closely with the conservation commission, the board that is charged with permitting activity on the beaches.

Beach erosion is a more complicated problem. The Island’s north-facing beaches, like Pay and Inkwell, are made up of glacial till — a mix of sand, cobble and rocks that was deposited in the last glacial period. The northern portion of the Island was the end point of the glacial melt. The south side of the Island is where the melting ice carried away the lighter sand. Thus the south shore beaches are sandier, with fewer rocks, than the north shore beaches. Because they are sandier the south shore beaches are more prone to erosion. On the north-facing beaches the rocks and cobble help keep the lighter sand in place and help slow erosion.

At Pay and Inkwell Beaches, however, there are several beach erosion dilemmas:

The sand that used to naturally nourish the town beaches is no longer available. The East Chop bluff, a century ago before it was armored, naturally eroded and the material washed along the shore and settled, among other places, on the town beaches. Now that the bluff is armored there is little sand material moving along the shore to replenish the beaches.

Many years ago the town built seawalls along the downtown shoreline. Now we know that seawalls deflect wave energy and thus wash sand off the beaches — seawalls cause erosion.

Beach erosion will increase as a result of stronger and more frequent storms, bigger storm surges and sea level rise due to climate change.

If nothing is done to nourish these beaches they will disappear and the recreational, environmental and economic benefits they provide to the community will be lost.

The only realistic source of material available replenish the beaches is that which is wind and wave driven into Sengekontacket Pond, some of it from these very beaches. This material has been placed on State Beach for many years.

Three years ago the town placed some of the Sengekontacket Pond Little Bridge inlet material on Pay and Inkwell Beaches to address erosion. Some residents were upset with its quality and encouraged voters to approve the purchase of a beach rake to remove rocks and debris from the beach. The conservation commission had serious environmental and regulatory concerns about raking rocks off the beaches since the rocks help protect against erosion. However, a compromise allows limited raking to address resident concerns about the quality of the beach while satisfying the regulatory requirements for protection of the beaches’ natural functions. No one is completely happy, yet all interests are being served.

The town is also working to address the short and long-term impacts of climate change on our shoreline. For example, the town is in the process of getting permits (it is a long process) to add nourishment seaward on the town beaches, that is, to make them wider, to increase the recreational and storm protection values (this project includes the in-town beach at the North Bluff).

The beaches are beautiful, fun, ecologically important and contribute significantly to the local economy. All these values are being addressed by the town within the confines of funding availability and regulatory requirements. In addition, the planning board is working on a new town master plan and is seeking public input on everything about Oak Bluffs, including the beaches.

Addressing beach erosion is a work in progress.

Liz Durkee
Oak Bluffs

The writer is the town conservation agent.