By Cheryl Blackerby
Two beach renourishment projects are completed, with two more to go.
The Savannah dredge finished work on nine-tenths mile of beach in south Boca Raton on Dec. 9, and the Ocean Ridge project wrapped up Feb. 9. The dredge left Ocean Ridge for Delray Beach the next day.
“Over 500,000 cubic yards of sand was placed along 1.1 miles of shoreline, resulting in a wider recreational beach and increased storm protection,” said Tracy Logue, coastal geologist for Palm Beach County Environmental Resources Management, about the Ocean Ridge project.
The beach, starting at the Ocean Club and ending at Edith Street, is about 300 feet wider than it was pre-dredging. Logue said she encountered happy beachgoers during an inspection of the beach Feb. 20.
After Delray Beach, the dredge will move to the north Boca Raton beach.
Ed Tichenor, director of Palm Beach County Reef Rescue, monitored silt plumes at Ocean Ridge and Delray Beach with the help of a quadcopter drone, a 14-inch four-rotor miniature helicopter, which offers a bird’s-eye view of the ocean. The drone, paid for by donors, started work in mid-January flying about 100 feet high for an overview of near-shore ocean conditions.
“Our drone allows us to quickly see where the problems are. Before the drone, we had to hike up and down the beach,” Tichenor said.
On a live feed Feb. 16, the drone showed a large plume of silt at Delray Beach, he said.
“I was surprised to see a plume that big. At Ocean Ridge, we saw fewer problems than we normally do. And we checked the south Boca Raton beach several times and never saw any turbidity there. Delray Beach is a different story. We’ve seen some very large turbidity plumes,” he said.
The silt plume was a mile long, he said. “Ultimately, the silt will find its way to the coral reefs. We have coral reefs in that area and shipwrecks, where goliath groupers congregate.”
The beach renourishment projects in Ocean Ridge, Delray Beach and north Boca Raton are U.S. Army Corps of Engineers beach projects. The Army Corps deadline for those projects is April 30 and the work is expected to be finished well before the deadline if seas remain calm.
The south Boca Raton beach renourishment is not an Army Corps project, but the city used the same contractor to save money.
Comments
Why wasn't the beach area from Edith street to the Briney border also done.? That is part of Ocean Ridge. The rocks have become a real dangerous situation in that area.