State of the beaches after Arlene

I guess that answers some of the questions. Due to the turtle nesting issue, it looks like there really isn't much they can do to hasten the nice appearance of the beaches.

It's obvious to me that scraping was a mistake. Hopefully the TDC realizes this now and they won't try it again. Perhaps dredging is an option. In fact, it may be the only option if they want to widen the beaches. IMO, that is the only way to prevent future beach damage that really shouldn't happen with a mild storm like Arlene.

The official stance I think is that Ivan is to blame for the surprising effects from Arlene, and that scraping lessened damage. I guess it's not a simple issue. On one hand, the actual beach level may be lower which may now take longer to build back up, but perhaps there was less damage to the dunes because of the scraped and piled sand.

I hope you're not one day writing "It's obvious to me that dredging was a mistake".

But if property is in jeapardy, it will probably happen. I think it will depend on how long we have before the next hit.

The official stance I think is that Ivan is to blame for the surprising effects from Arlene, and that scraping lessened damage. I guess it's not a simple issue. On one hand, the actual beach level may be lower which may now take longer to build back up, but perhaps there was less damage to the dunes because of the scraped and piled sand.

I hope you're not one day writing "It's obvious to me that dredging was a mistake".

But if property is in jeapardy, it will probably happen. I think it will depend on how long we have before the next hit.

Sometimes, we must allow Mother Nature to do her thing. Unfortunately, that comes at someone's expense.

You're exactly right. There is no easy answer. I know PCB and Pensacola Beach have done some dredging in an effort to widen the beaches. Some folks familiar with those areas might have a better idea of how it worked out.

But no matter what is done, there is always a trade-off.

turtles must nest in dry sand, not clay or peat, and need a sandy beach, not clay or peat, to reach nesting strata. the turtles may eventually be the swaying point for refilling the beach sand quickly before the next one comes in.

Are the lakes still open?

Are the lakes still open?

Yes.

SJ-

Thanks! By the way, I am horribly envious of you being able to lean forward and look out the window at that beach.

In reading the questions and answers about the beach conditions after Arlene (and other tropical storms/hurricanes), I have a few comments. The answer to the question, "Why is there black sand on some of the area?s beaches?" says "...While it may be unattractive, it is safe and washes off with water and/or mineral spirits."

In my mind, the beaches are "unattractive" when they are dirty with garbage or other debris that comes onshore after a storm or when the boardwalks are broken up. But the peat is part of the natural environment and, frankly, I never thought it was unattractive although everyone keeps telling me it is. Maybe it's because I'm new the area and the peat showing through the sand seems like a natural part of the beach. My concern is not the way the peat looks, but rather that it's a sign that the beaches are eroded and need to draw more layers of sand back.

We need to remember that if we "over-sell" the white sand as part of SoWal's beauty, then we shape people's perspectives to think that anything else is unattractive. Consider how beautiful the beaches in Maine are with their ragged rocks, brown sand, etc. They are gorgeous and I long for them almost as much as I long for SoWal beaches.

So, although white sand is an important part of SoWal beaches, so are the peat mounds, some black sand from peat, and whatever else beaches have naturally.

SJ-

Thanks! By the way, I am horribly envious of you being able to lean forward and look out the window at that beach.

What do you mean? I am sitting on the Beach using my wireless.
(just kidding, but that would be nice, eh?) I definitely cannot see the Beach from my window, but I am much closer than Montgomery.

I'm still envious. Come Saturday, I'll have my much needed therapy. Unfortunately, when I come down Saturday, I'll have the cell strapped to my side (work). It never goes away. I may re-enact one of those Corona commercials if it rings. :laughing1

That would be cool, flip that phone right in the ocean!!!!

With my luck, I would still be able to hear it ringing.

I was in Orange Beach/Gulf Shores, AL May 11-14. There was a dredge operation 1/4 mile offshore and what appeared to be a 36" pipe pumping sand onto shore. Trucks were then hauling the stuff off, and I saw some bulldozers spreading sand in places. I saw some of the post-Ivan pictures of the damage, and was amazed to see the recovery when I was there last month. The beaches just west of Perdido Pass looked great. The only difference I saw was that there was a significant amount of small, broken seashells on the beach in places, apparently ground up by the pumping/dredging, which for a tenderfoot like me, was a little painful to walk on.

Santa Clara access at Seagrove Beach today - no damage to walkover, beach and dunes in pretty good shape. Many stretches like this will be back to pre-Arlene pretty quick.

Santa Clara access at Seagrove Beach today - no damage to walkover, beach and dunes in pretty good shape. Many stretches like this will be back to pre-Arlene pretty quick.

Great Picture Kurt....thanks for posting !!!!!

It sure is interesting that scraping is being blasted because of Seaside even though there was nothing scraped there, and Santa Clara is so beautiful and a ton of sand was scraped there. Maybe it not the scraping and it is more complex. Alys beach wasn't scraped either and has peat, not to mention Topsail Hill State Preserve....

It sure is interesting that scraping is being blasted because of Seaside even though there was nothing scraped there, and Santa Clara is so beautiful and a ton of sand was scraped there. Maybe it not the scraping and it is more complex. Alys beach wasn't scraped either and has peat, not to mention Topsail Hill State Preserve....

I guess I am confused. I have not been to the Santa Clara access, but Kurt just posted the following photo, and the Beach looks a bit lacking to me. As a matter of fact, it looks like you could go swimming in the Beach Pond that has formed.

I guess I am confused. I have not been to the Santa Clara access, but Kurt just posted the following photo, and the Beach looks a bit lacking to me. As a matter of fact, it looks like you could go swimming in the Beach Pond that has formed.

WOW, look at all those people!! I think the secret of SoWal is out!

Lordy, look at all that crapola and people on the beach! And look at all the gosh darn tents! That's not 'needed stuff', that's just sh...! Calming down a bit now - I guess it's been a long time since I actually went to a 'popular' beach. I've been spoiled with the multitude of boat-access-only areas and the controlled park beaches. No litter and no junk! There's this one little cresent-shaped white sand beach surrounded entirely by marshes and seedling palms that comes to mind. Completely unapproachable by land, it's as natural as it is beautiful. Mmmmm. Nope, I wouldn't exchange a sewage lagoon for ten miles of that crowded, crap covered, ownership righted, tire-tracked, fenced, scraped, walkovered bs. They can have it!!! I'm going to stick with the beach below.

BTW, a lot of the sand washed down to Pensacola - they had 10 feet high extra in one place alone. Bet they won't give it back either. Perhaps each county could spend millions dye-ing their particular sand so it becomes clear who's it is.

Walton Sun - BY PASHA CARROLL SUN REPORTER

Seaside is known as the picturesque perfect place. But what about when it looks like chunks of clay were churned up at the beach?
After Tropical Storm Arlene hit last Saturday, the brownish hard claylike substance under the white sand was exposed. Some have suggested it might be the forest floor, of what Seaside was long ago.
?My understanding is that after Opal hit in the mid ?90s, you could see Cypress stumps,? Stacey Brady, public relation manager for Seaside said. ?With time it will build up to be beautiful again.?
?If you don?t turn around, you wouldn?t know it was there,? Brady said.
Brad Pickel, the Director of Beach Management at the Walton County Tourist Development Council, said the beach has eroded to where peat deposits are outcropping.
?The flat beach area is showing peat deposits,? Pickel said. ?It is because the beach is not only narrower now, but also has a lower elevation.?
Brady said the Seaside beach project manager thinks it is a clay substance. ?It is definitely darker than the white sand where it is washed away at the base of the dune,? she said.
After Hurricane Ivan last September, Seaside spent $1.2 million implementing an aggressive beach renourishment project.
?A lot of effort went out to sea with the Tropical Storm,? Brady said. This time, Seaside will wait for county, state and Mother Nature to heal the beach.

Walton Sun - BY JOYCE OWEN SUN REPORTER

Visitors on Tuesday sunned on the beach and splashed in the warm Gulf waters at Gulf Trace unaware that the county on June 12 had condemned four beachfront homes when septic systems failed during Tropical Storm Arlene.
Walkers on Sunday were the first to notice pipes protruding beneath beachfront homes and pieces of septic systems strewn on the beach, and soon county officials arrived to inspect the area.
Walton County Health Department Environmental Supervisor Matthew Coleman said the county assumed the worst when the Emergency Operations Center and a citizen?s phone call notified the health department of the sewage spill at Gulf Trace. Five people from Environmental Health responded Sunday, ordering 10 portable toilets and water storage units for the possible emergency.
?One of the four structures was empty. The other three were rental units,? Coleman said.
After notifying the renters that the septic systems had failed, the beaches were closed due to high bacterial contamination and the water would be cut off, they all left voluntarily, he said.
With the renters gone, the health department left only one toilet and water storage unit on site.
Blue Mountain Beach resident Richard Fowlkes agreed that the portable toilet and water storage unit were available, but visitors he spoke with were not aware of why they were there.
Notices posted Monday at the four homes on Gulf Shore Drive indicated there were no working sewage processing systems and that the homes could not be used until further notice.
In fact, visitors sunning on the beach, had some idea there had been a problem because of the yellow tape roping off areas of the beach, but because warning signs had been removed they believed everything was OK.
?Are you from the health department,? asked a Lithia Springs, Ga. woman who preferred not to be identified.
She was with a group of women from Lithia Springs and Huntsville, Ala. that have been coming to South Walton for 20 years, and to Gulf Trace for at least five years.
Although she was concerned that it might not be safe to go in the water, she believed that because the signs warning of bacterial contamination had been removed, the health department determined it was safe. Still, she and her friends were not going in the water until it looked clear.
The women arrived Saturday and were renting a house further away from the beach. They ventured out on Sunday, but the beach was a mess.
?It was nasty and covered with brownish stuff,? she said. ?When the WCHD announced an evacuation of the beach, we were glad to leave.?
Results of 10 water samples taken Sunday came back acceptable late Monday. The health department announced the ?water is now safe for water activities.?
But Fowlkes was concerned about the beach.
The damaged septic tanks were still visible on the beach. And though the county marked the area with yellow caution tape and advised visitors to avoid roped off areas, he wondered whether the raw sewage that had poured on the beach before the renters evacuated had seeped into the sand or caused problems at other beaches.
Not only did Arlene destroy sewage systems and dump dangerous bacteria on the Gulf Trace beach, sewage drain field parts contaminated Grayton Beach State Park, Blue Mountain Beach, Gulfview Heights and other beaches to the west, he said.
Fowlkes hoped the county would not allow the septic systems to be replaced as they were after Hurricane Ivan.
Coleman said there had been no determination as to whether or not the septic systems that were first permitted in 1982 could be replaced.
?It is something we?ve been working on since Sunday. Septic systems are limited by acreage. Mother Nature has changed the conditions there. A survey will look at how much land was lost,? he said.

Walton Sun - BY PASHA CARROLL SUN REPORTER

Not since?Tthe Truman Show? has South Walton seen so much publicity. But this time it is not a perfect world.
Last year Hurricane Ivan ravaged the Emerald Coast, hit Pensacola hard, and other more westerly areas garnered media attention. But after being hit by Tropical Storm Arlene, only 10 days after the start of the 2005 hurricane season, local news cameras have been rolling in South Walton.
The majority of the damage is in western South Walton, particularly at the Miramar Regional Beach Access, which also suffered the most severe damage during Ivan. Miramar is also Walton County?s most endangered beach.
?Beach erosion in western Walton County is an issue,? Brad Pickel, the Director of Beach Management at the Walton County Tourist Development Council said.
Pickel said a combination of factors makes the erosion increasingly severe.
The first was Ivan, which washed out the parking lot, beach access and the dunes. Just when the Miramar Access had been restored, Mother Nature delivered another blow.
?We had seven or eight days of southerly winds before the storm,? Pickel said. The waves were pounding and eroding the shore even before the latest tropical storm hit.
?Many properties had no protection; they were uncovered heading into the storm,? he said.
When Tropical Storm Arlene touched down on Saturday packing about 50-mile-per-hour winds, portions of Miramar just could not take the beating.
About half the sand that was placed at Miramar is gone. Only one unstable beach access remains standing. The underbelly of the edge of the parking lot is exposed.
According to the TDC, a permit has already been secured to rebuild the Miramar accesses. Chandler Construction is bringing in sand to stabilize the parking lot.
So what happens if the storms continue?
?Nobody knows,? Pickel said. ?A direct hit of a Category 2 (hurricane) could bring it (water) right up to the edge of the right of way.?
Depending on the level of erosion, the beach could be repaired, Pickel concluded.
?That decision would be made on a lot of levels,? Pickel said about not only a county decision, but homeowners as well.
Pickel said the most important approach to prevent Miramar Beach becoming extinct is a proactive one. The steps that should be taken include workshops that focus on area beaches, and not just acting in terms of emergency management.
So what about the remaining stretch of Walton County?s 26 miles of beaches and 56 beach accesses?
According to the TDC, 15 beach accesses were damaged during the tropical storm. The Board of County Commissioners at the June 14 meeting approved rebuilding of those accesses. Schipper?s Marine, a company that rebuilt more than 20 beach accesses after Ivan, will construct them.
?By Tuesday, after the Saturday storm, we were off and running,? Pickel said. He commended emergency agencies, the TDC and commissioners for expediting storm recovery quickly.

letter to the editor of the Walton Sun

Mother Nature is in charge

Once again Mother Nature is trying to teach and we can either learn from her wisdom or choose to ignore it like we have done so many times in the past.
If we ignore her we will continue to allow beachfront homeowners to improperly rebuild their walkovers only to be destroyed by small tropical storms.
We will scrape the beaches again, only to watch the sand wash out into the Gulf during another storm.
We will allow vacationers to leave chairs, umbrellas, tents and various other beach toys on the beaches overnight, also to be washed away.
As always they will be seen again in a few days, creating litter and debris on our beaches.
In many coastal communities there are ordinances requiring all beach paraphernalia to be removed daily.
After Ivan, many beachfront homeowners took liberties with the permits issued by building larger, beach invasive walkovers while others rebuilt without any permit at all. Most of these improperly constructed walkovers were destroyed by a small tropical storm called Arlene. Apparently there was no follow up inspection by officials to make certain the walkovers were rebuilt according to DEP standards.
Let?s do this right this time, Walton County. Do not issue permits without having inspections to ensure the walkovers are being constructed properly. Don?t scrape the beaches. Allow them to rebuild naturally.
If we live near the coast we must learn to co-exist with natural occurrences such as hurricanes and tropical storms.
Kendra Holt
Seagrove Beach

6/18/05

Kurt,

You just made my day. We are heading 4th of July with family and are counting down the days. How wonderful it looks!!! Thank you Mother Nature!!!!