LWVVC Lunch and Learn on Thursday, October 30 at the Ocean Center, was a fascinating and in-depth discussion into the options available to Volusia County to manage and address our most significant economic and natural resource: our beaches. Volusia County Coastal Director, Jessica Fentress, P.E. and representatives from Taylor Engineering, a respected Jacksonville based consulting firm that provides leading-edge solutions to challenges in the water environment. Community meetings were also available for all residents to attend Tuesday-Thursday of the same week, though the information provided at these meetings was summary level and discussion was limited to one on one with the consultants.
During the 2 ½ hour discussion, conversation covered the $81 million in FDEP (Florida Department of Environmental Protection) funded sand replacement projects. These projects are 100% grant funded and only because of the damage incurred during Hurricanes Ian and Nicole. They rely on sand dredging at the Inlet and then returning beach compatible sand to portions of the beach, both north and south of the Inlet. A portion of this money is also being used to investigate offshore sand sources to support other potential (and unfunded) beach nourishment projects.
Most discussion was focused on the considerably technical risk assessment and shoreline alternatives conducted by Taylor Engineering and included in the ongoing, also FDEP funded, feasibility study. The study was for the entire 47-mile Volusia coastline and considered all adjacent beachfront parcels. Shoreline encroachment, infrastructure exposure, armoring exposure, historical shoreline change rate, SBEACH Storm Response were the risks evaluated. Ten shoreline alternatives were discussed and varied from on-shore to off-shore options and included No Action, Structural Relocation, Flood Proofing and Structural Elevation, Seawalls, Revetments, Beach Renourishment, Groins, Nearshore Sand Placement, Breakwaters, and Nearshore Artificial Reefs. Each consideration was evaluated based on its benefits and drawbacks and scored on six objectives:
The 47-mile coastline was divided into nine distinct geographic communities and the recommended shoreline alternative for seven of the nine regions is Beach/Dune Restoration. The New Smyrna Beach South area includes Nearshore Sand Placement in addition to Beach/Dune Restoration and the New Smyrna Beach North area recommends No Action due to the currently funded 750,000 cubic yard sand replacement project occurring in that area.
The last portion of the discussion provided data on the economic impact of the beaches which reflects that beach oriented tourism supports more jobs in the county than any other industry and contributes $4.3 billion annually to our County’s GDP. Tourists contribute 31% of total sales tax collected in our county.
Our League recognizes the economic importance of our beaches to our local economy and realizes the future decisions associated with addressing beach erosion and managing our beaches will be critical to our tourism economy as well as ability to reduce damage to properties and minimize flooding. We will be encouraging our members and others to remain informed and involved as the county and other local governments consider this management plan and its recommendations. When we get access to the next community survey, we will distribute to our membership!
