“The surveys give a measurement of the rate sand is moving through the system and ensures the stability of the downdrift beaches. The Sebastian Inlet District in partnership with the Florida Institute of Technology consistently collects data to monitor the accumulation of sand within the inlet system and conduct semi-annual bathymetric surveys. Monitoring of the Sebastian Inlet is comprehensive. All work is slated for completion sometime in April. Once the sand trap dredging is complete, estimated to be in mid-March, dredging of the navigation channel will begin. Jenkins said smaller nourishment projects are undertaken in this area, about once every three to five years, to better mimic what would happen naturally for erosion and replenishment of sand if the inlet wasn’t there. The law requires that the sand be put back on the beaches,” Jenkins said.įor this project the beaches will be widened by about 50 feet, and dunes will be replenished. “A study done by the University of Florida found that just on the east coast of Florida, more than 90 percent of the erosion impacts on the beaches come from the stabilized inlets. By law, inlets in Florida must be managed to mitigate the impacts to downward beaches. This became the first inlet management plan in Florida. In the early ‘60’s the University of Florida studied the problem and they came up with the idea of a sand trap to capture the sand lost from the beach, and then it could be pumped back to the beach where it would have gone naturally if the inlet wasn’t built,” Jenkins said. “Once it was functioning, they saw impounding sand on the north and no sand getting to the south. The district commission oversaw the construction of the inlet, which was completed in the 1950’s. At this time the Sebastian Inlet District was also formed by an act of the Florida State legislature to be an independent special district chartered to maintain the navigational channel between the Atlantic Ocean and the Indian River. Legislation was passed in 1919 to construct the Sebastian Inlet. According to Mike Jenkins, engineer of record for the project and coastal engineering principal with Applied Technology and Management, the sand trap is the result of the construction of the manmade inlet. It’s located between the flood shoal on the west side of the inlet and the inlet throat. The first step is dredging the sand trap, which is a 42-acre depression that fills with sand. Ferreira Construction fused 18,000 feet of pipe to prepare for sand placement from the Sebastian Inlet. Close to 22 people are working on the project. It took about 35 days to fuse all the pipe and mobilize the equipment,” Ciabatteri said. “Staging for the project began right before Christmas. The company is also using a barge with a mounted excavator, two dozers and another excavator on the land. The seven-acre DMMA stockpiles sand for use in emergency beach fill and dune repair operations.Īccording to Michael Ciabatteri, project manager for Ferreira, sand is moving through about 18,000 feet of 18-inch HDPE pipe with the two inline boosters, a 16- and an 18-inch, one placed under a bridge and one on the beach. Ferreira will pump the remainder to the Sebastian Inlet District’s Dredged Material Management Area (DMMA). The material is being placed in two locations with 120,000 cubic yards being pumped onto a one and half mile stretch of beach. Ferreira Construction of Stuart, Florida, has been using its 18-inch hydraulic dredge, Lori Hill equipped with Hypack software, to remove sand from the inlet’s sand trap and navigation channel. Dredging operations to remove approximately 150,000 cubic yards of sand from the Sebastian Inlet in Florida began January 21.
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