Alright, you’re killing me smalls.  All over social media and this forum, everyone keeps claiming sand, sand, sand is what ruined First Peak.  Then people suggest that we need to dredge the north side of the inlet to restore the wave.

Some members of our team at FPP have worked in beach nourishment for years.  We’ve literally LIVED onboard hopper dredges.  We want to share some perspective on sand and why dredging is the farthest thing from reality when it comes to restoring First Peak.

1.    Beach nourishment is a form of coastal protection geared towards reducing storm impacts. It’s not total coastal protection but it aims to mitigate storm damage as best it can. By dredging offshore of First Peak, you would be making the water deeper, allowing more wave energy to enter nearshore, and increase the shoreline’s susceptibility to storm damage.  This clearly violates State and Federal statutes.  How can we possibly suggest a remedy to fix First Peak that violates State and USACE policy?

2.    Ranking Criteria. The Army Corps and FDEP evaluate the coastline of Florida and identify critically eroded areas.  These eroded areas are prioritized and fall onto a waiting list for cycles of county, state, and congressional funding to be allocated to their area.  Sometimes it take 5 years or more for a critically area to be addressed. The mid-reach in Brevard County for example has been waiting almost 10 years for sand in some areas.  If First Peak was even to get on this list to be dredged (which is counterintuitive to point #1), we could be waiting a decade to do anything.

3.    Costs.  Regardless of points #1 and #2 above, we have gone through and made a quick assessment of a price tag to effectively dredge the north side of the jetty to make an impact.  We estimate about 100,000 CY needs to be removed to restore the north side to pre-1970's First Peak.  Keep in mind this is nearshore so it’s shallow water dredging, the most difficult type.  A decent guess would be $40/CY all in to pump this sand to the south side via subsea pipeline. Truck haul would cost about 50% more, if the equipment can even access the sand.  That means the project would cost $4,000,000.  Where is that $4,000,000 supposed to come from?  Our plan to restore reflection costs $180,000. How can we justify the $4 MIL over the $180K.  That’s like asking do you want to pay $3 per gal for gas or $66 per gal?

4.    Ephemeral effect.  Even if we got to point 3 we would have to deal with the temporal nature of dredging.  The north side of Sebastian Inlet is accretional meaning it naturally tends to fill up with sand.  That means our dredging efforts would almost certainly be eradicated and filled-in by the first nor’easter or storm event.  Kiss that $4 MIL goodbye. The First Peak Project is totally for dredging when dredging is the practical and logical answer.  Due to dredging’s temporal nature, it is not a sustainable solution to restore First Peak for the long term.

5.    Habitat. Ok, now we have gotten to the point that dredging to restore First Peak seems totally ridiculous; because it is. However, did you consider policy advocates for beach protection and habitat such as the Surfrider Foundation and the Sea Turtle Conservancy?  The First Peak Project has teamed up with Sea Turtle Conservancy and Surfrider Foundation to discuss policies that unify us and come to a solution to restore First Peak that works for all of our organizations.  While I am not an official spokesperson for said groups, the First Peak Project will not support any solution to restore first peak that is temporary or causes destruction to the shoreline.

6.    Wave Reflection. Now we drill down to the real meat and potatoes.  In 2001, the State of Florida released $40,000 to conduct a feasibility report to reduce impacts to First Peak.  Obviously, that feasibility study was a fallacy in that it did not make accurate assessments of the change in reflection.  However, this State Document solidifies the concept that First Peak is caused by wave reflection.  By the surf community claiming sand is responsible, you are in direct conflict with the state-of-the-art and documented research.  Therefore, to overturn this feasibility study and change the mechanics of First Peak from reflection to dredging, you’re going to have to come forward with some major credentials and data.  The precedent was set almost 20 years ago: According to state funded research, wave reflection creates First Peak.

This was an exhaustive essay just to describe something that is a total moot point.  Talking about sand regarding restoring First Peak is a total waste of time and energy.  A very high-ranking coastal official, who will remain nameless, even told us that if the community wants to restore First Peak, they better expel the word “sand” from their vocabulary.

Now can we all please get our heads out of the sand?

The First Peak Project is a 501(c)(3) public benefit organization whose mission is to restore the legendary wave First Peak at Sebastian Inlet to its former glory. 

www.firstpeak.org