Geometric properties of anthropogenic flood control berms on southern California beaches

Coastal flood risk from coincident high tides and energetic waves is concentrated around low-lying urban areas. Municipalities construct temporary sand berms (also known as sacrificial dunes) to manage potential flooding, however the relationships between berm geometry (e.g., height, width and length) and performance are not understood. Concomitant pressures of sea level rise and urbanization will increase active beach berming. Effective future coastal flood risk management will depend upon optimizing berm efficacy relative to geometry, placement, and water levels. Here, 34 individual berms at seven southern California locations are characterized using 18 LiDAR datasets spanning nearly a decade. Three berm classifications emerged based on deployment duration: event, seasonal and persistent. Event berms, deployed to manage specific storms or high water events, are triangular in cross-section, relatively low volume (∼4 m3/m) and low crest elevation (∼5 m NAVD88). Seasonal berms are larger, volumes vary from 6 to 28 m3/m, and average crest elevations are between 5.3 and 6.4 m. A persistent berm, captured in all LiDAR data for that area, is the largest (48 m3/m), longest (1.2 km), and highest mean crest elevation (7 m NAVD88) of all study berms. Total water levels, estimated using observed tides and a regional wave model coupled with an empirical runup formula, suggest that overtopping is rare. Currently, event berms are vulnerable to wave attack only a few hours per year. However, even with modest sea level rise (∼25 cm) or El Niño conditions, exposure increases significantly, and substantial nourishments may be required to maintain current flood protection levels. •Anthropogenic flood control berms currently protect numerous urbanized backshores from flooding.•Thirty four berms, constructed from beach scraping, are geometrically characterized.•Berm efficacy is analyzed relative to total water levels.•Modest sea level rise or El Niño conditions significantly increase berm vulnerability.•Substantial nourishments may be required to maintain current coastal flood protection levels.