U.S. study shows Oregon beaches eroding faster

GRANTS PASS, Ore. — Many of Oregon’s beaches are eroding faster than in recent decades, according to a report released Monday.

Lead author Paul Ruggiero, an associate professor at Oregon State University, said the primary reasons are less sediment flowing down coastal rivers, sea levels rising due to climate change, and bigger ocean waves, particularly during winter storms.

The U.S. Geological Survey study is part of a nationwide assessment of coastal erosion and completes the latest look at coastlines around the lower 48 states.

It found that since the 1960s, 13 of 17 stretches of beach in Oregon have gone from building up sand to eroding, eroding faster than before, or building up less than before.

In general, Oregon has seen more erosion than southwest Washington, where beaches are building up with sand from the Columbia River, Ruggiero said.

While dams serve as roadblocks for sand that would otherwise restore beaches from erosion, the slow water in estuaries at the mouths of rivers is the main impediment, causing sediment to drop out of the water column, he said.

Rob Thieler, a research geologist for USGS, said Oregon, with abundant rock formations from ancient lava flows, is seeing less erosion than, for instance, the sandy coastlines of the Gulf of Mexico and the southeastern U.S.