On Wednesday, February 24, Indian River County's Phase I major beach renourishment project in the northern 3.7 miles of Sector 3 reached the Town of Orchid. With that, the project is running a little behind its original schedule, which had estimated a start date in Orchid closer to mid-February. The work conducted on Orchid's beach is expected to be completed within 4 to 6 weeks. The length of that timeline far exceeds that of the Town's own dune repair projects in recent years, but so does the scope of the County's project and the amount of sand that is to be placed in the coming weeks.
The Town, under emergency permits available when a State of Emergency is declared in Indian River County by Florida's Governor, has only been allowed to replace sand lost during the recent emergency storm event. Whereas, Indian River County's permit is unrelated to emergencies and allows the County to reshape the dunes and beach in a manner that is anticipated to provide longer-term benefits to the community.
1 of the Town's challenges has been the shortness of the beach berm (area from the waterline to the dunes), because it allows wave action from relatively minor storms and Nor'easters to have a big impact on our dune system. Waves eat away at the toe of the dunes, causing the slope to erode, an escarpment to form, and eventually the dune face to collapse. The County's project will increase both the dune and berm, providing for greater protection. An average emergency dune repair project by the Town typically replaces about 8,000 to 11,000 cubic yards of lost sand, while the County will place 85,000 cubic yards of sand in Orchid alone and almost 400,000 cubic yards across the entire project area. Orchid's beach accounts for about 17% of the total project area, but will receive 22% of the total sand volume for the project.
Sand for the project is being transported by truck from a sand mine in Fort Pierce. All funding is coming from Federal, State, and County sources.
As sand is being placed, plantings will be added to the expanded dunes. These will be in the form of 4 different species, which are known to thrive in this environment. The plantings support a healthy dune system, as the roots offer a form of erosion control.
For the safety of residents, the beach should not be accessed for the duration of the work in Orchid, which will see trucks and other heavy equipment operating on the beach and running up and down to Golden Sands Park, which is being used as the staging area for the project. Once the project is complete, it'll be important to the long-term success thereof to protect our new dunes and the plantings thereon by not walking on the dunes and not allowing children or dogs to play or run on the dunes.
The remaining 2.9 miles of Sector 3 (Phase II), stretching from Wabasso Beach Park south to the Turtle Trail beach access, is tentatively scheduled for restoration by the County starting in November 2021.
Update on 04/13/2021: The beach in Orchid has been cleared for reopening by Indian River County. Please don't venture too close to the north end while work continues in front of the Sanderling Community.