CEPRA Beach Monitoring Program
and Coastal Habitat Restoration GIS (CHRGIS)

Contact: Deidre Williams

The Coastal Erosion Planning and Response Act (CEPRA) Beach Monitoring Program supports the TGLO’s efforts in the research-based management of bayside and Gulf beaches that have been restored or re-nourished by the CEPRA program. The monitoring program is funded by CEPRA, which is administered by the TGLO in coordination with NOAA. The monitoring program has been conducted by the Conrad Blucher Institute (CBI) since 2007. The purpose of the monitoring program is to document the status of the CEPRA beaches, archive beach profile survey data for FEMA reimbursement purposes and provide recommendations addressing potential renourishment and management issues. The restoration/nourishment of CEPRA beach sites was originally funded by the CEPRA program in coordination with local community and government sponsors. The type of restoration applied is site specific and may include nourishment (import of beach quality sand) or a combination of nourishment along with coastal structures (groins, breakwaters or revetments). Restoration sites are those locations where complete to near complete loss of sandy beach had occurred. In addition, several Gulf fronting CEPRA projects have benefited from dune restoration. CEPRA beach nourishment/restoration sites are located along both bay and Gulf shores. The CBI monitoring program tracks the performance of 13 of the 33 CEPRA beaches that have been restored along the Texas Coast.

Since 2007, this program has applied methodology developed through the monitoring of one of the first CEPRA beach restoration projects (University Beach) which is located at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi. In addition, the Coastal Habitat Restoration GIS (CHRGIS) online mapping tool and archive was originally designed applying University Beach as the prototype. University Beach, restored during CEPRA Cycle #1 (completed August, 2001), is located along southern Corpus Christi Bay in front of TAMU-CC and was selected because of the availability of an extensive historic beach profile survey data set.

Coastal Habitat Restoration GIS (CHRGIS) provides a data archive and online data visualize tool for survey data and aerial imagery that serve to document changes at beaches in the CEPRA Beach Monitoring Program. CHRGIS provides an interactive website that allows the user to visualize historic aerial photography, beach profile survey data, and other site specific information for (CEPRA) beach nourishment locations along the Texas Coast. The user friendly, online tool does not require special software and provides visualization in a GIS- (Geographic Information System) type environment through ArcGIS for Servers technology. Educational information and tutorials for the online visualization tools are provided.

The CEPRA Beach Monitoring Program is integral to supporting disaster preparedness protocol. The monitoring program and online tools provide for the analysis, documentation, online review (on-the-fly) and guidance reporting that supports the TGLO in the most timely research-based decision making. CBI research is applied to provide guidance reporting to TGLO staff for application to Beneficial Use Dredge Material (BUDM) nourishment planning and post-storm restoration as well as for the FEMA reimbursement process after hurricanes impact the Texas coast.

Click to view CEPRA Beach Monitoring Survey and Analysis Reports

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RESTORATION SITES

View CHRGIS sites in a larger map

CHRGIS provides a repository for survey data and aerial photography for beach restoration sites located along bay and Gulf shorelines. In addition to beach nourishment (adding beach quality sand to the beach) some beach restoration projects include dune construction, planting of vegetation (to stabilize the dune) and shore protection (coastal structures such as groins, articulated mats etc.).

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CHRGIS can be applied to demonstrate the inter-relationships between coastal processes, coastal structures, shoreline change and the performance of shore and habitat restoration projects along the Texas Coast. In addition, CHRGIS provides an accessible archive of pre- and post-storm survey data that is required to apply for FEMA emergency renourishment funding.

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