Westport’s Dune Crest residents look to stave off erosion with berm

Published 1:30 am Friday, April 3, 2026

Oceanfront property is some of the most desirable and expensive in the world. Whether it be for vacation, investment, or primary residence, homes along the coast of just about any ocean offer unparalleled living experiences. However, Mother Nature has this annoying habit of continually eating away at land’s end and threatening valuable real estate and residents’ collective way of life.

Recently, 20 property owners at Dune Crest in Westport, along with consultant Scott Boettcher, Grays Harbor County District 2 Commissioner Rick Hole and experts from Blue Coast Engineering and Confluence Environmental held a kickoff meeting to discuss the possibility of extending a cobble berm 1,200 feet from the existing 800-foot berm constructed to protect Westport by the Sea. Ocean Shores Lead Planner and Shoreline Administrator Marshall Read was also in attendance.

“This is a big deal. You all have been experiencing erosion for a long time. It’s getting very significant,” Boettcher told the assembled group at the kickoff meeting. “We’re on the cusp with engineers of designing a connection to Westport by the Sea, possibly as much as 1,200 feet to make 2,000 feet of berm. That’s a big deal, so hats off to all of you.”

The purpose of the meeting was to educate the property owners as well as the coastal engineers.

Greg Curtiss and Jessica Cote of Blue Coast Engineering and ecologist Phil Bloch of Confluence Environmental presented an overview of the project to construct a “dynamic revetment” to mitigate erosion along the waterfront in front of the Dune Crest condominium community. Dynamic revetments use sand, cobble, larger rocks and driftwood to form a barrier along shorelines. This combination is designed to dissipate the energy from wave impacts.

According to Blue Coast’s presentation, dynamic revetments are used where sand nourishment is unsustainable and hard armor is not permitted. Hard armor can actually increase erosion by scouring the beach.

The project goals include permittable cost-effective shoreline protection while minimizing the impact to the shoreline ecosystem, including neighboring properties.

Curtiss and Cote covered numerous aspects of the project including the rules surrounding erosion mitigation, the maintenance required for shoreline protection structures, and the potential impact to the ecosystem. They also explained the types of materials that would be used.

“It’s not a flood protection structure, the main purpose is to mitigate erosion on the shoreline,” Curtiss said. “Hard armor, such as a vertical wall or rock revetment in a high energy environment can cause lots of scour and increase the erosion rate in front of that structure. Dynamic revetments are useful in that situation, it doesn’t cause increased scour or erosion, it’s mobile and it moves around with the wave energy and dissipates the wave energy naturally.”

According to Boettcher, each property owner affected and involved in the project must agree to participate before the permitting process can begin. The project will be privately funded with the possibility of grant money helping to defray the cost. The estimated cost is $2 million.

After the presentation, anyone wishing to was afforded the opportunity to walk the beach where the proposed revetment would be constructed.

Next steps include defining the project, a pre-permit application meeting, final design and the permit application process. A Washington State Department of Ecology review will be initiated, tribal considerations will be weighed, along with compliance with the region’s shoreline master plan. Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and Washington State Parks will also be involved in the review process. The city of Westport will issue a public notice and hold a public hearing as well as a public comment period.

During Monday’s Westport City Council meeting, Boettcher delivered a presentation explaining the project. Councilor and Dune Crest property owner Troy Meyers took a moment to thank County Commissioner Hole for his support.

“I just wanted to publicly say it’s impressive what you guys have done, you’ve really made a lot of headway,” Meyers said. “In particular, I wanted to thank the county and Commissioner Hole has been very engaged on this and it’s impressive to see them facilitating this at the level they are without even asking.”