26 Plum Island Homes Could Disappear

Report: Erosion Could Claim 26 Plum Island Homes

Ron Sanders Reporting

February 6, 2009

PLUM ISLAND (WBZ)

A preliminary report from the Army Corps of Engineers says 26 homes on Plum Island could be washed away within 10 years if nothing is done to protect them.

The report estimates owners of those homes are losing an average of about 13 feet of beach every year. Some of them are worried about losing equity in their homes if not the ability to sell them. Yet, they still savor the lure of the sea and the views they enjoy.

The gentle waves and bright sunshine made a walk on the beach inviting for Donita Rardin and her dog Mariah Friday afternoon. But the next time the wind comes from the northeast, Donita, like her home and her neighbors, will be on edge.

"No one likes to see their home at risk and their life savings. When we bought the house we did study the erosion charts, and we hadn't seen anything like what's occurred when we bought the house," she said.

Homeowners fear the same fate as a home several doors down, which is condemned and demolished after a late November storm.

Watch: Raw video of Plum Island home collapsing into ocean

Now the Corps of Engineers report says 26 homes on the ocean side of Northern Boulevard could be lost to the sea by 2019.
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"Including mine right where we're standing right here," said Marc Sarkady, who heads the Plum Island Foundation.

He blames deterioration and poor maintenance of the Army Corps' jetty on the Merrimack River.

"That water gushes through that jetty and runs right down the beach here right into Center Island which is what caused exacerbated erosion," he explained.

Potential solutions include dredging the Merrimack River channel north of the beach and depositing 160,000 cubic yards of sand on the beach.

That could between $2 and $5 million; but the cost of replacing the homes could reach $8 million, not mention the new, $30 million sewer system that runs under Northern Blvd. and serves the entire area.

Sarkady says his foundation and other allied groups are working with Congressman John Tierney as well as Senators Edward Kennedy and John Kerry to try and get some federal stimulus money to pay for remedies.

Plum Island Foundation, Inc., P.O. Box 226, Newburyport, MA 01950

The Plum Island Foundation was formed in 2008 and tax-exempt under Section 501(c)(3)of the Internal Revenue Code. All contributions, grants and bequests to the Plum Island Foundation are tax deductible.