ABOVE: A sand transfer plant on the north side of the Boynton Inlet runs as sand accumulates along the jetty. BELOW: Sand and water pour out of the transfer pipe on the inlet’s south side. Photos by Tim Stepien and John Pacenti/The Coastal Star
Related: Money, sand and Mother Nature
By John Pacenti
In a long-standing dispute over beach erosion and sand management, Manalapan officials are questioning the effectiveness and fairness of the long-standing sand transfer plant near Ocean Inlet Park.
This disagreement highlights a broader issue facing coastal communities in Florida.
As weather intensifies and sea levels rise, the struggle to maintain beaches becomes increasingly complex and expensive.
The sand transfer station sucks sand from north of the Boynton Inlet, piping it underneath the inlet to an elevated spout on the other side.
A key beneficiary is Ocean Ridge, which went to court more than 30 years ago to keep the plant in operation — and to get it to send more sand the town’s way.
For Manalapan — which like all barrier island communities needs sand on its beaches — the sand transfer plant has become somewhat of a take-it-or-leave-it insult that sends sand to the southern communities.
“And the fact that sand transfer, the way they’re doing it, they’re not taking sand from the inlet and dredging out. They are taking sand from private beaches,” said Dr. Peter Bonutti, an orthopedic surgeon the town named as a liaison on beach erosion with Palm Beach County and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. He spoke at Manalapan’s Beach Committee meeting in October.
Town Manager Eric Marmer added, “They’re all beneficiaries. We potentially are not.”
He said Manalapan’s beach “was not in a good place.”
The balance of nature was upset when the Army Corps of Engineers redirected the St. Lucie River into the Intracoastal Waterway, building the C-44 Canal in 1928 to move polluted water from agriculture fields near Lake Okeechobee. Boynton Inlet was cut to drain the Intracoastal, also known as the Lake Worth Lagoon.
The sand transfer plant was constructed in 1937 to mitigate the interruption of natural sand flow caused by the man-made inlet.
The county’s renewal of the plant’s permit — which Manalapan has been asked to approve — is currently under review by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.
Marmer and Mayor John Deese were set to meet with county officials on Jan. 23 to see if the sand transfer plant can feed the town’s beach as well. Marmer said state officials have also heard the town’s concerns.
Manalapan Commissioner Dwight Kulwin met for hours with the operator of the sand transfer station on a fact-finding mission. He said that there is no evidence the sand transfer station is taking sand from Manalapan beaches.
“So, it’s not like if you block the sand here, then Manalapan’s beach will miraculously increase,” he said.
In a very real sense, this is déjà vu all over again.
Ocean Ridge filed suit against Manalapan in 1987, claiming the sand transfer plant wasn’t pumping enough sand southward and that Manalapan was stealing sand. A Palm Beach County judge agreed and ordered the county to increase the sand sent to Ocean Ridge — and added the two towns needed to work together.
In 2017, Manalapan also balked at signing off on the renewal of the permit for the sand transfer plant.
Bonutti, husband of Vice Mayor Simone Bonutti, said Manalapan again has concerns as it considers signing off on a new permit — such as the 410-foot curved jetty at the inlet.
He said his position hasn’t changed since October and that he has Army Corps data that confirms the damage to Manalapan beaches by the transfer plant and the inlet.
“The curved inlet is very problematic,” Bonutti said.
Bonutti recommended the town lobby the federal government to reassess the inlet. For instance, 30% of the year, federal documentation shows, the sand does not move north to south, he said.
The jetty’s original design was meant to keep sand from accumulating in the inlet, which would block the flow of the water from the Intracoastal.
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