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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Kauai’s Poipu beach is eroding 1 foot per year


Associated Press

LIHUE, Hawaii — One of Kauai’s most famous beaches is eroding at a rate of about one foot a year.

Coastal geologist Jim O’Connell says the sand is disappearing from the shore because of storms and what he calls “chronic erosion.”
This has created dangerous swimming and snorkeling conditions for both residents and visitors.
That’s because a stretch of sand, known as a “spit” or “tombolo,” which used to separate the calm side of Poipu Beach Park from what is commonly called the Waiohai side, has also been washed away.
Without that tombolo, the east-to-west current flowing through Poipu Beach Park has nothing to slow it down.
The Poipu Beach Resort Association says it is willing to pay for a beach replenishment project.
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Information from: The Garden Island, www.kauaiworld.com/