How to Keep Sand from Washing Away at the Lake: Proven Solutions for a Better Shoreline

How to Keep Sand From Washing Away

If you’re interested in building a homemade beach, it’s really important to learn how to keep sand from washing away. After all, sand is what makes a beach a beach– and if it washes away, well, all of a sudden you have no more beach! Since sand is so small and light, it’s really susceptible to being washed away, especially if you don’t have particular safeguards and methods in place to ensure your sand doesn’t wash away. At a big oceanside beach somewhere like California or Hawaii, having some sand wash away isn’t a big deal, as there’s so much. However, if you’re building a beach on your lake, for example, you’ll want to be very aware of why sand washes away and how to keep sand from washing away. Sand is often one of the most expensive parts of building a beach, and so making sure to protect it is an important way to maintain your beach and cut down on maintenance costs. Here we’ll share a few different reasons why sand might wash away, before sharing how you can keep sand from washing away from your homemade beach.

Why Does Sand Wash Away?

There are a few different reasons why sand might wash away from your beach. Oftentimes, the biggest culprit is erosion. Erosion is the earth’s elements gradually wearing away at your sand- for example, over time the waves from the ocean will break down and remove sand from the beach. Although this isn’t as big of a concern if your beach is on a lake or somewhere without waves, water erosion can still be a major concern. Additionally, wind and rain might contribute to sand washing away. If it’s extremely windy, there’s the possibility that wind can pick up sand particles and carry them far away from your beach. Additionally, wind can help create waves on your lake or pond, which will help to erode the sand as well. Something similar could happen if it’s rainy. When it rains, depending on how hard it rains, the rain could wash away sand from your beach as well. In fact, this is generally how mudslides happen- obviously washing away sand from your beach won’t be as destructive, Of course, human activity can contribute to whether or not sand washes away. If your beach is seeing a lot of activity from friends and family, you can expect sand to wash away faster. People will be kicking it into the water and off of your beach, and this sand will slowly wash away and reduce all of the sand you have. None of the above problems are completely avoidable, but there are certainly different things you can do to keep sand from washing away.

How to Keep Sand From Washing Away

There are a few ways you can keep that beach you just made, looking clean, clear, and stable. Sheltering your Beach Sheltering your beach from the elements can be a great way to cheaply prevent your sand from washing away. The best way to do this is to choose the proper spot.

Here are a few different things you should look for in terms of sheltering your beach:

Slope angle: the steeper the angle of your beach, the more sand will slide off of it. Choosing a flatter area can help prevent some erosion of your sand. Protection from wind and rain: finding a sheltered area that provides some protection from wind and rain can really help protect your precious sand. Trees, coves, and other natural barriers are crucial in this step. You’ll also want to think about minimizing exposure to waves, even if you don’t live on a typically wavey body of water – storms can cause large waves on lakes or ponds.

Using a Goodbye To Muck SandMat

Installing a Goodbye to Muck SandMat is the best way to keep your beach in great shape for years to come. It will help keep sand from washing away. You don’t want that precious sand to wash away or get lost in the muck of the bottom of your lake or pond. Additionally, installing a SandMat is a really easy process- simply lay down your SandMat where you want your sand to go. Quite simply, it’s the best product out there to prevent sand from washing away and to ensure your beach stays wonderful for years to come. There are many benefits of installing a SandMat, including: Stops weed growth by keeping light from aquatic vegetation Support: Provides a solid base to keep your sand from shifting, drifting, or joining the muck

Prevents erosion of topsoil Barrier: serves as a barrier between the lake, beach, and your lawn Eco-Friendly: keeps weeds down without the use of nasty chemicals Cost-Effective: our SandMats have a lifespan of over 5 decades Easy to Maintain: Unlike other ways of keeping your beach, shore, and lake clean, the SandMat (or any of our Mats, for that matter) is a quick installation and you’re done. No further maintenance is required. Retaining Wall Retaining walls can be a really helpful, albeit expensive way to keep sand from washing away. In some cases, it may be necessary to build an underwater retaining wall to prevent the sand from eroding. An underwater retaining wall serves the same purpose as an above-ground retaining wall, which is to keep the earth and, in this case, sand, in place. This is mainly necessary where there’s a steeper slope or your beach is in an area that’s more prone to rapid erosion.

Areas that are prone to rapid erosion can include any areas that tend to be windy or rainy, or if your beach is somewhere where waves are a problem. Build and Maintain Your Beach with the SandMat

Thankfully, with a Lakemat SandMat, there should be relatively little maintenance or repair you’ll need to do. It does a fantastic job at keeping sand on your beach, making it the perfect summer hangout spot for friends and family. Still, it doesn’t hurt to regularly monitor how your beach is doing to see if there’s anything you’ll need to repair, maintain, or alter.

Additionally, you may decide you’ll want to expand your beach after seeing how great the SandMat works. You can install them side-by-side, for a bigger beach!