With the majority of concrete artificial reef mats now in place, 2019 will be the year sand will finally be trucked in to shore up the Mid-Reach section of Brevard’s beaches. The Army Corps of Engineers and Brevard County worked together on a design that officials say will mitigate the covering of near-shore reefs.
The authorized federal project in Brevard County is divided into three segments: North Reach, South Reach and Mid-Reach, with the North Reach and South Reach, which are void of near-shore reefs, already having received sand. The Mid-Reach is located between the southern end of Patrick Air Force Base to the north and Indialantic to the south.
To compensate for the estimated three acres of Mid-Reach reefs that will be impacted during the restoration work, 10 artificial reef sites are being constructed on 4.8 acres from Pelican Beach Park to just south of Howard E. Futch Memorial Park at Paradise Beach.
The Mid-Reach reef mat project is 85 percent complete and will require one more season of construction (expected in June) to complete the last remaining site.
The reef mats are located in about 15 feet of water and about 1,000 feet off the beach at 10 sites within the Mid-Reach. The portion constructed in the summer of 2017 held up very well during Hurricane Irma, a good test for the concept, said Mike McGarry, program manager for the Beaches, Boating and Waterways section of the Brevard County Natural Resource Management Department.
The contract for the actual beach replenishment – expected to place approximately 250,000 to 300,000 cubic yards of beach-quality sand along the 7.8-mile Mid-Reach shoreline – is scheduled to be awarded in August, with construction expected to begin in November, said Amanda Parker, Army Corps public affairs specialist, Jacksonville District.
Meanwhile, the Indian Harbour Beach City Council recently approved an agreement with the Army Corps for access to add sand at Bicentennial Park and another location.
“This (project) balances the goals of maintaining the beach and dune habitat, providing shore protection and minimizing the need for oceanfront seawalls, while also protecting the nearshore reef habitat,” McGarry said.
Matt Fleming of Save the Mid-Reach opposes the plan.
“The county government has misled us about the nourishment projects in a number of ways. They will be saving tens of millions of dollars and a natural reef if they stop trying to widen the beach,” he said.
