The sand will cost just over $2 million and be paid for with funds from a Florida Department of Emergency Management grant. The vendor providing the new sand is Stewart Mine Materials. The Town Council voted to purchase the sand on Monday.
The new sand is needed to restore the town’s beaches from Hurricane Ian impacts. It will be used to repair and restore beach accesses, construct a berm to protect upland properties along segments of beach that did not qualify for the FEMA emergency berm, fill scours, and renourish a segment of beach known as Carlos Point Beach.
Hurricane Ian devastated Fort Myers Beach causing substantial erosion of the beach. Over 220,000 cubic yards of sand were lost from the beach. In addition, beach accesses were compromised, and the loss of elevation along the beach has left upland properties vulnerable to king tides and future storms.
Where does sand come from, great philosophical question! Anyone with anecdotal observations please do some research before making off the cuff conclusions. Even the California environmentalist support berms. From LA Times: ” Local environmentalists lately have expanded their efforts to seek protection of a sand berm at Aliso Beach, a county beach in South Laguna Beach, calling on various entities to bring about enforcement measures to help put a stop to its breaching”. There is allot of research out there vs subjective evaluations including renourishment after the berms are breached. Yes, ours were breached (washed away…disappeared) but then again they were only inches high because of backlash from beachfront owners. Anyone got any constructive ideas instead of criticism other than bamboo berms? If we take this option, hope the berms are sturdier than my bamboo floors! Need solutions to rebuild our community more than negativity. Contemplating where the sand comes from belongs in a yoga class.
Why does the town need permission to put up an island saving/flood prevention berm? Should be mandatory on a barrier island. Does this mean, those home owners that did not allow access to their property for berm, are now liable for all flooding damage that comes through their property and damages structures around them because the berm wasn’t in place? Lawyers will be very happy.
I saw a good question on here. WHERE DOES THE SAND COME FROM?
Did you read the article??
It’s right there in the second sentence.
And is this sand from where? The ocean? Just moving ocean sand is the cure? Nope bamboocrete?…Love all, Barb
And is this sand from where? The ocean? Just moving ocean sand is the cure? Nope bamboocrete?…Love all, Barb
And is this sand from where? The ocean? Just moving ocean sand is the cure? No! Plant based BAMBOOCRETE Is my hope to save earth from erosion as Human Civilization is stealing sand for block, cement and fill in!!! Yes insanity save sea bambooliving.com and Rizome Bradenton! Love all, Barb
TLM = Turtle Lives Matter 🐢
Yep. And HLM, home owners lives matter. Turtle habitats are flooded berm or no berm. During Idalia the cordoned off turtle areas equally disappeared and some flooding of property averted at least mid island. Maybe inform hurricanes that TLM? Enough with the turtles, we have more than a thousand people, most that are elderly and have no time left to rebuild lost homes and lifetime memories. Berms may at least minimize the loss. At some point common sense of human viability out weighs turtle preservation, that’s just reality of survivability. That’s how we all got here instead of a Ninja Turtle world with humans building habitats in the sand. HLM!
I hope the new beach front property owners understand and implement the dunes with grasses. They don’t block a view and you walk right through them.
The last berm was removed by Idalia less than a year after installation.
You know what they say about doing the same thing again and again getting the same results while expecting something different.
And it did it’s job. That is what the berm is for. Negativity!
And just what did it do?
It prevented a lot of flooding. I saw it working first hand. Lot of the beachside properties would’ve been flooded again without it
Dean,
Nada. It disappeared early in the fight. That’s why they will spend millions more building a new one.
Over and over on a string bean barrier island in the time of increasingly stronger storms.
Correct. I saw water halfway up streets.
Dean, I too saw first hand that the berms held during Idalia and the king tides that followed. Where there were berms in place, Estero Blvd remained dry. Where homes did not allow access for the sand is exactly where the water flowed into Estero Blvd. And I do agree with Christy H. comment about sea oats being planted on the berms. The oats will keep the berm intact longer. Not quite sure why you are so against this project as the monies are there for this reason. Sorry to see you are so negative.
I saw first hand the gulf flow halfway to the bay on some streets. Where is the berm now?
isnt that the definition of insanity?