Posted on January 17, 2019
Got a big boat? Bring it to the Fort Pierce City Marina.
The marina is wrapping up a three-month, nearly $400,000 project to remove sand built up in its entrance channel and boat basin, mostly from Hurricane Matthew in 2016 and Hurricane Irma in 2017.
And, as a bonus, the project is replenishing a beach on an Indian River Lagoon island.
“When boaters arrive at the marina, we want them to have a great experience,” said marina manager Dean Kubitschek, “and that means no issues getting in and out.”
Boats haven’t been getting stuck, Kubitschek said, “and we’re not turning away business because boats can’t get in, but we wanted to take a proactive approach.”
Since November, Gator Dredging of Clearwater has removed about 5,000 cubic feet of sand, enough to fill between 300 and 500 dump trucks.
Before the dredging, the marina wasn’t accepting boats that draw more than 6 feet of water, Kubitschek said. Now the marina can take boats that draw up to 7 feet, 6 inches.
The project is now in its final stage: putting most of that sand on the beach on Tern Island, one of the man-made islands built in the lagoon to protect the marina after Hurricanes Frances and Jeanne in 2004 and Hurricane Wilma in 2005.
The islands “performed as designed,” Edward M. Seissiger, Fort Pierce engineering project manager, said via email, but Tern Island needs “minor repairs” to replace sand removed by the hurricanes.
“Essentially, we’re recycling the sand,” Kubitschek said. “And we’re saving money. It would have cost about $100,000 to bring in outside sand to put on the beach.”
The islands also have helped increase the amount of sea grass and the numbers of juvenile fish in the lagoon near the marina.
Completed in 2014, the 12 islands were built to protect the marina from storm surges and withstand Category 3 hurricanes but also have become home to numerous species of birds, including endangered least terns.
“We’ve been extremely pleased with the environmental impact the islands have had,” Kubitschek said.
Source: TCPalm
