While other areas along the East Coast search for quality sand for beach replenishment and storm repairs, Sebastian Inlet has a 42-acre sand trap that collects what they need and then some.
Even more of the sand comes from regular maintenance dredging, with piles of the surplus commodity held in the Sebastian Inlet District Dredged Material Management Area (DMMA) for future beach placement. The six-acre sand storage site located northwest of the Sebastian Inlet State Park Tidal Pool was built in 2010-2011 and was used for emergency dune repairs after hurricanes Sandy and Matthew.
The storage pile is being stocked up again starting this week, with 30,000 cubic yards of sand from dredging the channel that begins west of the sand trap and continues to make the connection with the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW). The channel was originally designed to be 15 feet wide and 9 feet deep. Crews will be working day shifts only to complete the channel as part of the second phase of a larger project also involving sand dredged from the sand trap. Pumping is expected to take place for 30-40 days, with a tentative phase two project completion date at the end of May.
An estimated 110,000 cubic yards of beach-quality sand was earlier dredged from the inlet’s sand trap and placed on downdrift beaches as called for in the fill template designed by coastal engineers and permitted by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Sand placement completed last week began just north of the McLarty Treasure Museum and continued south for a 1½-mile stretch to just south of the Indian River County Ambersand Beach public access area.
“Dredging, sand-bypass and beach-nourishment projects take place every 4-5 years since the Sebastian Inlet District expanded and deepened the inlet’s sand trap in 2014. The 42-acre sand trap collects sand that migrates into the inlet system that would otherwise cause shoaling. It takes about 4-5 years to accumulate up to 200,000 cubic yards of sand,” said Sebastian Inlet District Executive Director James Gray.
In 2012, the district dredged its sand trap, extracting 122,000 cubic yards of beach quality sand for beach placement and storage in the DMMA (approximately 25,000 cubic yards). On Oct. 26, 2012, the eye of Hurricane Sandy passed within 200 miles of the Sebastian Inlet with waves ranging from 20-30 feet offshore, and producing over 10-foot breaking waves on local beaches causing moderate to major dune erosion.
To repair the dune erosion, the district emptied 16,614 cubic yards of sand from its DMMA and placed 18,000 cubic yards of sand from an approved upland sand source.
Again in 2017 after Hurricane Matthew, 31,000 cubic yards of stockpiled sand was used for emergency dune repairs.
