Posted on September 2, 2020
Dredging for the latest beach renourishment project on Lido Key has been moving “a little bit ahead of schedule” since it began last month, according to Sarasota City Manager Tom Barwin.
As of Friday, crews already had moved more than 200,000 cubic yards of sand to the southern shores of Lido Key beach from a shoal in Big Pass – a primary navigational access point frequented by boaters between the Gulf of Mexico and Sarasota.
At this rate, Barwin says, the sand-pumping part of the project is on track to be finished by the end of October, when it will reach a location near the Lido Key Beach Recreation Trail at the north end of the public beach.
“There is a huge sigh of relief being breathed throughout Lido Key and by beach lovers throughout the region,” he said.
The Lido Beach Hurricane and Shoreline Damage Reduction project is one of the largest contemplated by the state. It will ultimately remove 710,000 cubic yards of sand from Big Pass and renourish about 1.56 miles of Lido Beach with it.
Read more:Judge denies attempt to halt the dredging of Big Pass
At a cost of $12.7 million, the project is funded 62% by federal money, 19% by state money and 19% by local money derived from bed taxes.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Cottrell Contracting Corporation began the work in mid-July, after a federal judge denied a last-minute attempt by Save Our Siesta Sand 2 to halt the project. The group argued that the project would have significant negative environmental and economic impacts on the region.
At 35% to 40% completion, the project is being “well-documented” and monitored by inspectors and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, Barwin said.
After the sand-pumping is complete, crews will install two “groins” – or man-made structures designed to hold sand in place and minimize beach erosion – between November and January, after sea turtle nesting season ends.
Then, the sand will be tilled to give it that “fluffy, rich, powdered sugar feel,” Barwin said.
And the city is already beginning to see some early results from the initiative.
“We had a little bit of impact to the shoreline from Hurricane Laura on Tuesday night, but fortunately, the damage was minimal,” Barwin said. “It really did already help protect our infrastructure and properties.”
Barwin added that residents and infrastructure aren’t the project’s only beneficiaries, either. He estimated that Lido Beach is home to 25% to 30% of the state’s black skimmer population, and the beach has seen a “bumper crop” of the birds this year.
“There’s a huge role here in protecting turtle habitat and seabird habitat,” he said. “This project promises to protect their habitat for generations to come.”
But not everyone has embraced the project. Echoing the concerns raised by Save Our Siesta Sands 2, Gil Mallari says he’s worried about the project’s potential to disrupt marine habitat.
He compared it to the sprawling development he sees as a resident of east Manatee County, where he says more and more wild animals are intermingling in the community.
It’s a waste of taxpayer dollars, he said, to interfere with naturally occurring processes.
“I don’t think we should really mess with nature,” he said. “This place has been here forever. Let it be. Everything evolves over time, and it’s going to work itself out.”
Lindsay Noble sees it a bit differently. Having grown up in Sarasota, she’s familiar with beach erosion and the need for renourishment. When she and her family go boating, Big Pass is one of their favorite places to stop.
“I don’t think it’s been a problem,” she said of the dredging project.
Though her family now has a couple of barges to circumvent when they’re out on the water, she says there’s still plenty of sandbar to anchor down on and play.
“I think people are very, very happy with the progress,” Barwin said. “The beauty in this is that it’s really the smartest, soundest environmental approach to a beach shoreline stabilization and beach maintenance because we haven’t had to go very far to get the sand.”
This article has been changed to correct the amount of sand to be removed from Big Pass to renourish Lido Beach.
Source: heraldtribune
