Residents of Colonial Beach have had something of a front-row seat to shoreline decay over its long life as a community. Nowhere is this better displayed than at the shore on the northern side of Colonial Avenue, where some areas are now below the waterline of the Potomac. The Town has been well aware of the problem but has been missing the necessary resources to make fixing the issue possible. That appears set to change.

On Monday evening, the Town hosted an open house at the meeting hall, displaying plans drawn up not just for maintaining the north beach, but for trying to reverse the damage that erosion has caused over the years. This planning is still in the early phases, and nothing concrete has been set in motion yet. Currently, the focus is on getting public input and ideas from Town residents on what they might wish to see.

“This is just the first big step of it all,” commented Colonial Beach Mayor Robin Schick. “It’s a pretty big project that we’ve been trying to start for as long as I can remember, but we just never had a way to get it done until the grant from the Planning District Commission came along.

“This is figuring out the logistics of the engineering, and we’ll have to apply for another grant when the time comes for implementation. It’s a long process, but it’s better than nothing, and it is going to be a big deal for everyone living there.”

The matter was discussed further at last week’s Town Council meeting, courtesy of Town Manager Natasha Tucker.

“We had a really good turnout. I was very pleasantly surprised,” noted Tucker. “Concept drawings were provided, but they were not final. Once we have a final rendering, we’ll be able to upload it.”

A message board had also been placed for the public to share comments or concerns, and at least two people did, with one resident noting that the beach at the end of Lincoln Avenue was a private beach, adding, “I don’t want my front yard changed so drastically.”

Another member of the public was a bit more welcoming, writing, “We are very pleased with the recommended changes. It will be wonderful to have accessibility to the beach from Virginia Avenue and reduce our flooding.”