Posted on October 27, 2025
Key Points
- Hurricane Ian hit the Treasure Coast Sept. 28, 2022, producing 11-foot waves.
- On Nov. 10, 2022, Hurricane Nicole pounded the area, producing 19-foot waves.
- The Sector 5 area lost about 19.4 feet of beach to erosion, officials said.
INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — Beaches and dunes damaged during 2022 hurricanes Ian and Nicole could soon be repaired.
A $6.5 million beach-and-dune restoration project is expected to begin in November to repair about 3.1 miles of shoreline in what the county calls Sector 5, which includes parts of Vero Beach and Indian River Shores, county Coastal Resource Manager Quinton Bergman told county commissioners Oct. 21.
The project includes restoring the shoreline with about 153,300 cubic yards of beach-compatible sand and about 117,500 native, salt-tolerant dune plants, Bergman said.
The state and the Federal Emergency Management Agency are paying about $3.2 million toward the project. The county’s $3.3 million share will come from tourist-development taxes, Bergman said.
Hurricane Ian hit the Treasure Coast Sept. 28, 2022, producing 11-foot waves offshore. Less than two months later, on Nov. 10, Hurricane Nicole pounded the area, producing 19-foot waves offshore, Bergman said. The Sector 5 area lost about 19.4 feet of beach to erosion, he said.
The project is expected to be completed by April, with work breaks during the weeks of Thanksgiving and Christmas. Work must be done before June, when turtle nesting season begins. State law prohibits beach restoration projects during nesting season, which concludes in November.
