The Chesapeake Bay Breakwater Database is being developed by personnel in the Virginia Institute of Marine Science's (VIMS) Shoreline Studies Program for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (COE) in order to:

1) Document breakwater system performance around Chesapeake Bay relative to predictions
2) Develop guidelines for breakwaters in sand limited and fetch limited systems such as estuaries, reservoirs, lakes and bays.

Stone breakwaters are "free standing" structures designed to reduce wave action by attenuation, refraction, and diffraction before it reaches the upland region. Attached or headland breakwaters require beach fill in order to acquire long-term shoreline erosion control since they are constructed in areas that are subject to more energetic conditions. Headland breakwaters can be used to accentuate existing shore features. The dimensions of a breakwater system are dependent on the desired degree of protection and potential impacts on littoral processes.

The Chesapeake Bay Breakwater Database Project has 39 sites. Although more Bay breakwater systems exist, the sites in the database were chosen because they were designed with regard to their site setting, impinging wave climate, and desired level of protection, i.e. the 25 yr or 50 yr. storm event. Site information and system parameters are shown in the Chesapeake Bay Breakwater Access Database.

Four breakwater systems, Aquia Landing, Kingsmill, Van Dyke, and Yorktown, were selected for detailed analysis of Hurricane Isabel's impacts. These sites were surveyed immediately prior to and just after the storm. This provided an opportunity to physically determine shore changes that may result due to a major storm event that equaled the 1933 Hurricane in storm surge level. Hurricane of 1933 is the unofficial 100 yr event that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has, until this point, used for a reference datum in Chesapeake Bay. The beach survey data were analyzed for changes in sand levels in the beach and nearshore as well as for any upland or backshore impacts from the storm. At all sites, the breakwaters performed well allowing little overall change to beach systems. Since these sites were designed for 25 and 50 year storms, all were "overtopped" with the combination of surge and wave runup. The beach/upland interface at the two high bank sites (Kingsmill and Van Dyke) incurred varying degrees of bank scarping, but no bank failure while the two low backshore sites (Aquia Landing and Yorktown) saw sand washed over into adjacent roadways. Beach planforms adjusted bayward under storm conditions but returned to pre-storm position. The results of the analysis are presented in Hardaway et al. (2005).

These projects are part of the National Shoreline Erosion Control Development and Demonstration Program (Section 227). The Program's objective is to provide state-of-the-art coastal shoreline protection with emphasis on evaluation of innovative or nontraditional approaches to help prevent coastal erosion and to improve shoreline sediment retention.

Using the database:
The database and this website are still under construction. Items are being added regularly. The general setup includes a main information page for each site. Additional information is linked on that page. Photos through time are broken into three categories: Oblique aerial photos, those taken on the ground, and orthorectified mosaics of vertical aerial photos. On these mosaics, the breakwaters and bays are labeled. These labels are used in the site dimension tables to describe the site. The parameters measured on the site dimension table are depicted on this breakwater graphic. Sites that have more than just a main introduction page are highlighted on the list below.

Location of breakwater sites throughout Chesapeake Bay.
Headland Breakwaters
Headland Control
Detached Breakwaters