COBBLE BELL

PORT BAY, NY

WATERFRONT | RESILIENCE/CLIMATE ADAPTATION | ADAPTIVE MANAGEMENT | NNBF | BENEFICIAL USE | MONITORING

Status: Constructed, Ongoing Maintenance

Awards:
ASLA Honors Research Award (2023)
ASLA Honors Planning Award (2020)

The Cobble Bell is an innovative, recurring practice developed for Port Bay, NY, aimed at managing dredged sediment and nourishing the barrier bar that serves as both the community beach and a protective infrastructure against Lake Ontario storms. Located in Wayne County, NY, within the drumlin field on the southeastern shore of Lake Ontario, this shoreline is characterized by eroding drumlins, forming a series of dramatic bluffs and barrier bars. This unique landscape provides rich ecological habitats and recreational opportunities and remains one of the few areas in the Great Lakes relatively untouched by substantial shoreline hardening, preserving its distinct cultural and ecological qualities.

Recent years of high water levels and accelerated erosion have intensified pressures to harden shorelines in communities facing property damage, while land managers, including the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation, contend with the loss of significant ecosystems and shoreline habitats. As part of Healthy Port Futures, we collaborated with Decker Excavation, the Port Bay Improvement Association, the Wayne County Water and Soil Conservation District, and the NYS DEC to develop a modification to the existing dredging permit to facilitate the reconstruction of the barrier bar over time. Our research indicated that leveraging predominant waves and currents to move sediment from west to east could significantly enhance beach-building efforts.

Our proposal involved creating an artificial landform, the Cobble Bell, which protrudes into the nearshore environment. This bell-shaped form, inspired by the natural glacial drumlins dominating the region's topography, was designed to accelerate natural processes of bluff erosion and beach-building. The Cobble Bell shape allows more placed sediment to be available for erosion and transport to the beach by positioning it further into the nearshore zone. This design works seamlessly with the operational logic of a bulldozer, achieved by repeatedly driving the same path with a slight incline on the blade.

First implemented in 2020 and repeated in 2022, 2023, and 2024, the Cobble Bell practice is not a complete solution to erosion issues in Port Bay but serves as a promising example of how to efficiently work with natural processes to preserve the ecological character, natural beauty, and protective performance of coastal landscapes at minimal cost. Ongoing monitoring and data collection over the next three years will inform the practice's future adaptations to new demands and environmental conditions.

Learn more:


    Client: Great Lakes Protection Fund

    Collaborators:

    Wayne County Soil and Water
    Port Bay Improvement Association
    NYS Department of Environmental Conservation
    NYS Department of State
    Decker Excavation


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