On the border with New Hampshire and Massachusetts – about 35 miles north of Boston – is Salisbury, a coastal town and popular summer destination for tourists. But for those who live in the town year round, especially those who live on the coastline, life’s not a beach.
Last month, after a series of storms battered the area, local citizens came together to take the necessary steps to protect their homes. Volunteer organization Salisbury Beach Citizens for Change raised more than $500,000 to erect a 15,000-ton sand dune – a formidable barrier that would hopefully protect at least 15 beach houses from destruction.
Or so they thought. The sand dune was completed after one month in early March, but just three days later, the dune – and nearly half a million dollars – was wiped away.
The tragic incident made the project a laughingstock to some and angered others.
But Tom Saab, the president of the organization, doubled down on the dune.
“The dunes we built were sacrificial. They sacrificed themselves to protect the properties. Water didn’t go into people’s living rooms, destroy houses, destroy decks, patios and so on. So the dunes worked,” Saab said. “However, now we’re vulnerable to another nor’easter because we need to somehow replenish what we lost.”
On the Salisbury Beach Citizens for Change’s Facebook page, one person commented on a post about the sand dune debacle: “Your houses sit right on an ever rising and ever violent sea. Do you really think any amount of money will stop what’s inevitable?”
As oceans around the world get warmer, sea levels rise due to thermal expansion and weather patterns get more extreme, boosting coastal erosion. This climate crisis is now on the doorstep of Salisbury beach homeowners, as they suffer the consequences of rising sea levels, stronger winds and severe storms in recent months, including two in January.
“It was devastating,” Saab said about the recent storms. “Water went from the ocean into people’s living rooms and kitchens. Patios were destroyed. And at least one home was deemed uninhabitable.”
It’s a problem which Saab said should now officially be the responsibility of the government, as Salisbury is a public state beach and the area is susceptible to nor’easters and hurricanes due to its proximity to the Atlantic Ocean. So now his group is pushing for state assistance.
“You just need financial help from the state. And there’s a problem,” Saab said. “Governor [Maura] Healey’s administration is a major hindrance to protecting the beach.”
After several meetings with local and state government officials, including one on 14 March, Saab kept getting the same answer. The state has yet to pitch in financially for some kind of protection mechanism against the encroaching tides, the most recent of which was a record 14ft.
Saab said he suggested cheaper alternatives to protecting the homes, including filling plastic trash bags with sand to create a barrier or sand harvesting, which Saab described as a fairly simple and much more affordable option.
“You scrape up the sand, you put it in a dump truck, you drive it back up on to the dune, and you dump it. So all the sand becomes free. It works in other parts of the country.”
But no proposal was accepted. The state did however grant the citizen organization a beach access permit, but Saab said it was a drop in the ocean.
The Massachusetts department of environmental protection did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Meanwhile, Saab had to answer to the generous dune patrons at home, many of whom were not happy seeing their investment disappear within a matter of days.
Saab said: “People were upset. People were depressed. People were angry. They want to know what’s going to be done and they want the state to help out. People are saying I’m not paying out of my pocket any longer. I’m not contributing to this any more.”
“I just have to encourage people and keep a positive look. I will not give up. I’m not going to give up”
