Several beachgoers who went to Jetty Beach in Oak Bluffs complained late last week that sand dredged from a nearby spot in Oak Bluffs Harbor was unfit to replenish the popular beach. But town officials said the dark sand, interspersed with globs of black bottom-of-the-harbor sediment, is safe, and will look like all the other beaches with a few days of bleaching sunlight.
“It looks to me like a toxic waste site,” said Fred Huss, a regular patron of the beach. “I don’t think it’s fit to put your blankets on, or for kids to be playing on. There’s broken glass, there’s plastics.”
Conservation agent Elizabeth Durkee said the dredge spoils were tested for any toxins, and evaluated for grain size to match what is currently on the beach.
“Beaches are critical to our role in a resort economy,” Ms. Durkee said. “The benefit to having that sand is to nourish the beach, to protect the beach, to restore the dunes that have been eroding.” She said beach grasses and other plants will be planted in the fall, which is the most effective time to plant.
Ms. Durkee said she regretted that crews did not immediately rake out some of the debris from the sand, but she and others spent Friday evening, and much of the weekend raking out and smoothing the sand.
By yesterday, Ms. Durkee said the entire area had been raked, globs of sediment were drying out, and the sand was lightening to match the rest of the beach.
