Posted on February 3, 2021
Erosion is threatening the area
Nicole Crosby walked along the coastline near Mickler’s Landing in Ponte Vedra Beach on Friday morning, as surfers crashed into waves and shorebirds scuttled along the sand.
High tide had narrowed the strip of beachfront.
Crosby, who has lived in the area for several years, said the beach is thinner than it used to be because of damage done by Hurricane Matthew and other storms.
The erosion is bad enough that a nearly 1-mile segment of Ponte Vedra Beach has been deemed critically eroded by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, though St. Johns County government supports extending the designation in that area.
While Ponte Vedra Beach has seen setbacks in recent years, the federal government recently approved funding for a study to see what can be done and if a U.S. Army Corps project is warranted in the area.
In a phone interview with The Record before her beach visit, Crosby said she’s seen the damage done by storms in recent years, and she said the study funding is “great news.”
“It’s just so critical,” she said.
Specifically, Congress set aside $500,000 for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Jacksonville District to start a Coastal Storm Risk Management Study of North Ponte Vedra Beach, according to an Army Corps news release.
“North Ponte Vedra Beach, home to some 2,000 permanent residents, includes approximately 10 miles of Atlantic coastal shoreline that run south from Duval County toward St. Augustine. … In 2016 Hurricane Matthew caused severe damage along the narrow beach in North Ponte Vedra,” according to the Army Corps. “The storm surge was sufficient to cause an estimated $100 million of structural damage to approximately 265 homes and eroded an average of 30 feet of beach along the coast. Continued erosion could further endanger residential and commercial properties, and threaten SR-A1A, which serves as the area’s major hurricane evacuation route.”
Hurricane Irma made the damage worse.
Lori Moffett, a Ponte Vedra Beach resident who leads the Save Ponte Vedra Beach organization, said the study is the path to getting the Army Corps involved long-term in the area.
“We’re elated and thrilled. … It’s an extremely competitive process,” she said.
A long road ahead
The $500,000 is just the beginning. The total cost of the study is expected to be up to $3 million, and the county is expected to find funds for half of the cost. Once the study is underway, it’s expected to take up to three years.
On Feb. 16, the St .Johns County Commission is expected to discuss spending $500,000 to match that initial Congressional funding and get the study started, said Joy Andrews, deputy county administrator. Andrews said the erosion is creating not only cosmetic issues but also safety concerns.
The county and the Army Corps will, if the county decides to move forward, develop a cost-sharing agreement for completing the study.
The county has about 42 miles of coastline, and the beaches are critical to its tourism, tax base and quality of life.
Because of the importance of local beaches, the Army Corps is already involved in two long-term beach renourishment projects in the county: one in St. Augustine Beach and one from around Nease Beachfront Park to about the Serenata Beach area.
While the details of the North Ponte Vedra Beach study haven’t been worked out, Jacksonville District spokesman David Ruderman said he expects the study to include a cost-benefit analysis of possible improvements.
Army Corps Jacksonville District Commander Col. Andrew Kelly said in the release that the Army Corps and the county government are committed to protecting “this national treasure for the benefit of its present residents and for the benefit of the generations that come after us.”
“This study expands and builds upon a long-standing partnership between Jacksonville District and St. Johns County to collaborate for the preservation of the natural treasure of its coastline, which enables and ensures the social and economic basis of life along the Atlantic Coast,” Kelly said.
