Guest commentary: Have we learned nothing from 25

Aug 21, 2023

Michael Niebuhr

Twenty-five years ago, Tropical Storm Frances made landfall, and while the immediate effects were seen instantly in property damage, beach erosion and dune decimation, the long-term effects have caused controversy since.

After the devastation in 1998, geotextile tubes, sometimes called Geotubes or “sand socks,” became all the rage, and quickly were installed up and down the Texas coast. Being touted as an alternative to traditional dune construction, they gave beach-front homeowners a sense of security that perhaps they had not received from natural dunes.

Geotextile tubes became so trendy that as a freshman in high school, I conducted a project testing their effectiveness, as compared to natural dunes and hardened structures, to beach and dune preservation. The success of the project soon had me representing Ball High at the state science fair. However, one question I received over and over from judges during the process was — what do you see as the long-term success of geotextile tubes?

Fast forward 10 years and we started to get a glimpse into that answer. After Ike, we saw some cases where homes behind geotextile tubes sustained more damage than those without the “protection” of a geotextile tube.

In fact, the failure of geotextile tubes was seen up and down the Texas coast to such a dramatic extent that the Texas General Land Office began a statewide campaign of removing them, many in complete disrepair, despite some baseless claims that they could last for up to 75 years. This process proved to be harder and more costly than originally assumed.

So why, after 25 years, are we still considering installing geotextile tubes here in Galveston? Are they going to be beneficial for the preservation and restoration of our beaches? Case after case of geotextile tubes built in Texas and around the country have shown that in most instances, the tubes cause increased beach erosion. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers calls geotextile tubes a “Bandaid” compared to natural dunes. The GLO recommends constant beach nourishment to maintain any effectiveness of geotextile tubes, which will put pressure on the city’s already limited budget.

Are they going to be beneficial for our natural environment and wildlife? Recently, we’ve heard council members use the protection of wildlife such as sea turtles to justify the closure of beach access, specifically in front of high-end developments. Research has shown that geotextile tubes limit sea turtles’ ability to dig deep enough in the dunes for safe and successful nesting.

Geotextile tubes are also hardened structures, despite what some here locally may be trying to tell us, and as such, do not have the same normal movements of a natural dune system that is vital to its effective protection of the entire barrier island of which it protects.

So why is the city considering paying for their installation? Many point to a singular case at Beachside Village as a success story, but while ignoring the countless cases of failures, including others here on the island, that seems to be just cherrypicking for justification.

Perhaps rather than pushing this very short-sighted Band-Aid that has proven to be inefficient, we focus on not promoting the development and reconstruction of properties within 200 feet of the dune line, and instead, encourage natural dunes systems designed to protect the entire width of the island and not just the select few.

Michael Niebuhr lives in Galveston.

Michael Niebuhr

Thank you, Michael, for a refresher on why we don’t see geotubes anymore. The sad reality of geotubes is that they break down when exposed to the elements. Geotubes require copious amounts of sand to keep them covered, a form of contradiction when you consider that, if we had copious amounts of sand, we wouldn’t need geotubes. Another sad reality is that our eroding west end has lost so much depth of field in the beachfront that the wave energy exerted on anything placed there will quickly erode. Any landowner who has tried to restore lost sand after an erosive event knows that. Exposing a “hard structure” to that wave energy only exacerbates erosion. Mother Nature is going to keep on pounding the west end and row upon row of houses will be lost, because its easier to lose houses piecemeal than it is to solve the problem.

Competent agree. It makes no sense that the city would not only support the use of these tubes, but also being will to help pay for them, if it would then require us to spend even more on beach nourishment efforts just to manage and maintain them. Practically every time Maxwell speaks we hear how stretched our city budget is, so why would they be pushing this idea?

Michael > You must be aware of the "service fee" THEY add to every spending project. Geo tubes may not do any good but do make the politicians pushing them wealthy.

And I’ve never once accused anyone of getting wealthy off their installation. Nor do I believe that’s the case. I didn’t write this article as an attempt to oust some sort of corruption, I wrote it to give some insight into the inefficacy of geotextile tubes, and why our city should be looking elsewhere for overall beach and dune health.

How about extending the seawall as originally planned? The seawall was built with several extensions as the Island population expanded westward. Then, all of a sudden - it stopped!

The seawall, much like geotextile tubes, were what was considered best at the time, however with time, research, and evidence, we know now that neither is truly an efficient way to protect our beaches and coastline. There is a reason while seawalls like Galveston’s are not the norm up and down the United States coasts.

A natural dune system can protect the width of the island, and its infrastructure behind it if that infrastructure is built properly for a barrier island. And remember, no infrastructure is completely immune from storms. We must build appropriately, and not build when necessary.

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