The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Jacksonville District is conducting initial field assessments at four federal beach-protection projects after high king tides and a recent nor’easter affected Florida’s coast.
Surveyors are visiting the Fort Pierce Shore Protection Project, the St. Lucie County Coastal Storm Risk Management Project, the Martin County Shore Protection Project and Palm Beach County’s Jupiter-Carlin Segment. The agency said it is documenting current conditions, evaluating erosion and observing damage.
The Corps is reviewing field observations, project records and before-and-after photographs of beaches and dunes to determine whether further technical evaluation is needed. If its analysis finds erosion that meets federal criteria, local governments could begin a process to request federal assistance.
The agency said the beaches are designed to absorb wave energy and storm surge, helping protect nearby infrastructure and coastal communities. It spent nearly $20 million placing sand on two Treasure Coast beaches during the past year, including roughly 400,000 cubic yards placed along about a mile south of Fort Pierce Inlet in May at a cost of about $15 million.
St. Lucie County Director of Port, Inlet & Beaches Joshua Revord said there has been notable erosion and that the county is preparing post-storm surveys to measure losses. County staff also planned another round of observations to assess the extent of impacts and any post-storm recovery.
Elsewhere on the Treasure Coast, Indian River County Coastal Resource Manager Quintin Bergman said erosion from the king tide was expected to move dunes back 4 to 6 feet at some beaches, including Wabasso Beach. At Tracking Station Beach Park, the tide reached dune grass planted during a restoration completed in March, according to the report.
Martin County Coastal Program Manager Jessica Garland said winds and tides moved some of the 360,000 cubic yards of sand placed on four miles of South Hutchinson Island this past winter and spring. She said much of that sand was pulled just offshore and should return in the coming days and weeks; the county does not anticipate an emergency sand project because of the recent event.
Martin County is still scheduled in January to move 650,000 cubic yards of sand from an impoundment near Sailfish Pointe to beaches north and south of St. Lucie Inlet, including Bath Tub Beach and St. Lucie Inlet State Park. Garland said that work was planned before the October king tide events.
