Page 12 - Southern Exposure - March '24

Page 12, Southern Exposure

Commissioner’s Update

Beach Restoration Efforts In Palm Beach County

By Vice Mayor Maria Marino
Palm Beach County’s 47- county construction accesses and publicly accessible that are contingent on providing public access to the sandy
mile coastline is a playground beach areas. Coral Cove Emergency Dune Restoration will beach area. The intent of our efforts are to maintain a beach
for millions of residents immediately follow completion of Singer Island and will and dune system using public dollars on a regional scale
and tourists each year. Our focus on recovery of dune areas within the county park and where historic development has impacted the natural system’s
beaches serve as one of the adjacent public access areas. Coastal Resources Program ability to respond to erosion.
best defenses against wave staff are also working with local Inlet Management We hope and expect that recent observations of natural
damage caused by winter District, municipal, state, and federal partners to facilitate recovery will continue as conditions normalize and the
storms and hurricanes. restoration of affected major beach nourishment projects significant amount of sand within nearshore coastal waters
However, the constant areas where appropriate. finds its way back onto dry beach areas.
erosion of our beaches is The county’s dune restoration efforts are funded by a Your input on areas of concern is very helpful. As always,
an undeniable reality and portion of Tourist Development Council bed taxes which please contact me if I can be of assistance at (561) 355-2201
maintaining the quality and are used as a local match for state and federal grant dollars or by email at MMarino@pbc.gov.
sustainability of beaches is of the highest importance.
The Palm Beach County Department of Environmental
Resources Management, through its Shoreline Enhancement
and Restoration Program, builds environmentally-sensitive,
cost-effective projects to protect and restore the natural
function of beaches and dunes. The department encourages
improved sand management practices at inlets and promotes
the removal of non-native vegetation from sand dunes. Since
1989, Palm Beach County has participated in or constructed
over 22 miles of beach and dune restoration projects for the
benefit of tourists, residents and coastal property owners.
Dunes are accumulations of wind-blown sand abutting
the beach. They are stabilized by salt tolerant native plants
that have deeply-penetrating, extensive root systems. As the
plants become buried, new roots develop on the recently
buried stems while new stems emerge from the sand. Dunes
help minimize erosion and protect coastal infrastructure from
storm damage.
Recently you may have observed shoreline erosion.
Our beaches sustained moderate additional damage to a
number of previously identified “hot spot” areas of erosion
through the end of 2023 as a result of repeated strong frontal
storm systems and their associated onshore winds. Despite
additional erosion to these localized areas, we have observed
natural recovery and sand accumulation over the past month
as conditions have begun to normalize. These limited periods
of recovery are more typical to the county’s winter beach
season and a number of positive indicators, such as seaward
accumulation of beach sand and significant nearshore sandbar
formation, are good indicators that sand perceivably lost to
erosion in recent months is still present in the coastal system
and will continue to facilitate natural recovery.
The worst-hit dune-only county project areas have
emergency construction contracts in place to facilitate
restoration of engineered dune systems where natural
recovery is not possible. The Singer Island Emergency Dune
Restoration is 50 percent complete, focusing on protecting

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