A long-awaited report detailing the Cape Cod Canalâs role in starving the townâs beach of sand was made public this week by the US Army Corps of Engineers.
In short, the draft report says the jetties at the Cape Cod Canalâs east entrance entrance interrupt the natural transport of sand and âstarve the downdrift littoral system of sediment needed to maintain a stable shoreline.â
The US Army Corps also concluded, after years of study, that while the jetties are not the only cause of Sandwichâs shoreline erosion, the interruption caused by the jetties âsignificantly exacerbates erosion along the downdrift shoreline and is the primary cause of the ongoing threat that such erosion poses to the shoreline and surrounding coastal community.â