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Nags Head may have solution to shrinking beaches

Posted at 1:11 PM, Aug 28, 2013
and last updated 2013-08-28 16:27:55-04

NAGS HEAD, Nc. (WTVR) - Sand loss is shrinking beaches all around the Outer Banks, but Nags Head may have a solution.

The township dumped tons of sand two years ago, spending $30 million for beach replenishment.

It was hoping the sand wouldn't wash away for a decade, and it now looks like it will last a lot longer.

In some areas, the dunes are actually  getting bigger, and vegetation is growing.

A recent  study found that just three percent of the new sand has gone out with the tide.

Even with the good news, Nags Head isn’t declaring victory just yet.
It’s too early to tell, and Mother Nature isn’t easy to hold off.

“They’re going to have to keep on replenishing the sand, that’s global warming and everything else,” Stone said. “100 years from now, it’s a different story, but for now you can kind of manage through it.”

Managing through is what they’ll do, so neither the sand nor people’s memory of it wash away.