How does Beach Nourishment Work?
In a typical beach nourishment project, sand is collected from an offshore location by a dredge and is piped onto the beach. A slurry of sand and water exits the pipe on the beach and once the water drains away, only sand is left behind. Bulldozers move this new sand on the beach until the beach matches the design profile. Beach nourishment is a preferred way to add sand to a system that has been starved by the altered inlets and major storms because it provides a significant level of storm protection benefits for upland properties and is the least impacting to the coastal system. An additional benefit of beach restoration projects is that they quickly restore shore bird, marine turtle habitat and continue to add support to local industries dependent on the visitors to the beach. The program is authorized by Florida Statues, specifically Section 161.091. The link will take you to this section in the Florida Statues.
