- Jun 3, 2007
- 1,207
- 2,046
- Detector(s) used
- A sharp eye, an AquaPulse and a finely tuned shrimp fork.
- Primary Interest:
- Shipwrecks
I ran across this today. It appears that beach renourishment is not working out. It certainly took them long enough to figure this out.
I found this statement "If the county were to cease battling erosion, he said, barrier island properties would face threats from the ocean, and values would plunge as would tax revenues." to be rather interesting. We taxpayers are paying for this debacle for the purpose of increasing tax revenues...seems circular to me. I am personally in favor of letting the natural processes of nature destroy or build sandbars wherever needed. Building a structure on a sandbar...maybe not a good long-term plan.
More concerning (to me) is the idea of Indian River County being able to block 1715 Fleet salvors access to permitted salvage areas because of new anti-erosion barriers.
The link to the story is below.
INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — Orchid Mayor Richard Dunlop and Indian River Shores Mayor Tom Cadden are expected to meet with county beach advisers in coming weeks to help choose a computer model that could show how various anti-erosion structures could work on the county's beaches.
That was the informal consensus Monday after a three-hour workshop in which county commissioners, the county's five mayors and the Beach and Shore Preservation Advisory Committee discussed how to afford the battle with erosion as the chance of state and federal aid washes away.
"What we're doing is painting the beach (with new sand) every five years. ... And we don't have the money," Commissioner Joe Flescher said.
Dunlop, Cadden and the mayors of Vero Beach, Sebastian and Fellsmere have been discussing the idea since May of switching from multimillion-dollar sand projects, which have to be repeated periodically, to more permanent structures, such as the Prefabricated Erosion-Prevention Reef off Humiston Park.
Dunlop said Orchid and the other cities were willing to split costs with the county on a computer-based study of which structure would work best.
"We'll step up to the plate, like we stepped up for Piper Aircraft," Dunlop said, referring to the county, cities and the state rallying around a $32 million incentive package in 2009 to keep Piper in Vero Beach. "In fact, this is more natural (cause) in the long term than Piper."
If the county were to cease battling erosion, he said, barrier island properties would face threats from the ocean, and values would plunge as would tax revenues.
The county in 1996 installed the PEP Reef structures for $2 million. The 200 units, each with a base of 6 feet by 15 feet, were placed in two staggered rows for 3,000 feet from the Village Spires south to Humiston Park. They were placed 200 to 300 feet offshore at depths of 7 to 9 feet.
Early on, state and federal regulators gave low marks to the structure because it settled in the sand and didn't stop wave energy from reaching the beach. But it nevertheless did help rebuild the beach, the mayors have said.
"My mind goes around in circles on that, and we don't even know if the PEP Reef works," County Commissioner Wesley Davis said.
County Coastal Engineer James Gray said sand replacement is the only solution that actually adds sand from outside local beaches. Any structure, he said, only retains sand on one beach at the expense of another.
CAN THE COUNTY GET A PERMIT FOR ANOTHER PEP REEF?
Michael Walther, president of Coastal Technology Corp., Vero Beach: "It's an open case, but it's considered very, very difficult to do."
Prof. Gary Zarillo, oceanographer, Florida Institute of Technology, Melbourne: "In my opinion, it's permittable."
http://www.tcpalm.com/news/2011/sep/19/indian-river-county-officials-continue-search/
I found this statement "If the county were to cease battling erosion, he said, barrier island properties would face threats from the ocean, and values would plunge as would tax revenues." to be rather interesting. We taxpayers are paying for this debacle for the purpose of increasing tax revenues...seems circular to me. I am personally in favor of letting the natural processes of nature destroy or build sandbars wherever needed. Building a structure on a sandbar...maybe not a good long-term plan.
More concerning (to me) is the idea of Indian River County being able to block 1715 Fleet salvors access to permitted salvage areas because of new anti-erosion barriers.
The link to the story is below.
INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — Orchid Mayor Richard Dunlop and Indian River Shores Mayor Tom Cadden are expected to meet with county beach advisers in coming weeks to help choose a computer model that could show how various anti-erosion structures could work on the county's beaches.
That was the informal consensus Monday after a three-hour workshop in which county commissioners, the county's five mayors and the Beach and Shore Preservation Advisory Committee discussed how to afford the battle with erosion as the chance of state and federal aid washes away.
"What we're doing is painting the beach (with new sand) every five years. ... And we don't have the money," Commissioner Joe Flescher said.
Dunlop, Cadden and the mayors of Vero Beach, Sebastian and Fellsmere have been discussing the idea since May of switching from multimillion-dollar sand projects, which have to be repeated periodically, to more permanent structures, such as the Prefabricated Erosion-Prevention Reef off Humiston Park.
Dunlop said Orchid and the other cities were willing to split costs with the county on a computer-based study of which structure would work best.
"We'll step up to the plate, like we stepped up for Piper Aircraft," Dunlop said, referring to the county, cities and the state rallying around a $32 million incentive package in 2009 to keep Piper in Vero Beach. "In fact, this is more natural (cause) in the long term than Piper."
If the county were to cease battling erosion, he said, barrier island properties would face threats from the ocean, and values would plunge as would tax revenues.
The county in 1996 installed the PEP Reef structures for $2 million. The 200 units, each with a base of 6 feet by 15 feet, were placed in two staggered rows for 3,000 feet from the Village Spires south to Humiston Park. They were placed 200 to 300 feet offshore at depths of 7 to 9 feet.
Early on, state and federal regulators gave low marks to the structure because it settled in the sand and didn't stop wave energy from reaching the beach. But it nevertheless did help rebuild the beach, the mayors have said.
"My mind goes around in circles on that, and we don't even know if the PEP Reef works," County Commissioner Wesley Davis said.
County Coastal Engineer James Gray said sand replacement is the only solution that actually adds sand from outside local beaches. Any structure, he said, only retains sand on one beach at the expense of another.
CAN THE COUNTY GET A PERMIT FOR ANOTHER PEP REEF?
Michael Walther, president of Coastal Technology Corp., Vero Beach: "It's an open case, but it's considered very, very difficult to do."
Prof. Gary Zarillo, oceanographer, Florida Institute of Technology, Melbourne: "In my opinion, it's permittable."
http://www.tcpalm.com/news/2011/sep/19/indian-river-county-officials-continue-search/
