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FactorFiction

Beach Fanatic
Feb 18, 2016
494
409
I have heard that, and I have heard that in some places there may be an area as much as 300 feet in depth that is available for use by the public seaward of privately-owned property.
While there is not a consistent line, if you look at the surveys of the Walton County coastline from the Corps of Engineers that was done for the Hurricane Storm Damage Reduction (HSDR) Project, you can get some idea. I don't think you'll find anything at all close to 300 feet of beach below the MHWL.
 

FloridaBeachBum

Beach Fanatic
Feb 9, 2017
463
112
Santa Rosa Beach
If we are talking constitutions, the Florida Constitution provides that the area below the mean high water line on the beaches is held in trust by the state "for all the people."
I fail to understand why people continue to make a point about this this fact. "Below" means seaward of. In Walton the difference between the mean low water and mean high water tide elevation is small.
NOAA measures the tides and have a station in Panama City Beach.
Here's much of September 2017:
2017-09 NOAA PCB Tides MHWL - Copy.jpg The predicted and measured and validated tide elevations are shown. Sep 10 is when Irma came to town with 25 kt winds from the north for a few days and blew the water out/seaward. The prevailing winds are from the south and blow waters landward. 0.0 is the MHWL.

2017-09-16 NOAA PCB MHWL - Copy.jpgSept 16 is typical and had high tide at 8 AM, Equal MHWL at 11 AM, and low tide at 4PM.

Here's Seagrove Skycam at these times on Sept 16. As you can see there is not much difference in the water elevation. Wave height defines the wet sand but not the MHWL. All the tents and umbrellas in these photos are landward of the MHWL. The public has access to all the beach "below" the MHWL; but can not cross private property north to south to access or egress the beach below the MHWL. That's trespassing.

Sep 16 8AM High tide 0.84 EL above MHWL
2017-09-16 0800 Walton Seagrove MHWLplus0.84ft EL - Copy.jpg
Sept 16 11 AM MHWL
2017-09-16 1100 Walton Seagrove MHWL-0.04ft EL - Copy.jpg
Sept 16 4 PM Low tide -0.69 ft EL below MHWL.
2017-09-16 1600 Walton Seagrove MHWL-0.69ft EL - Copy.jpg
 

FloridaBeachBum

Beach Fanatic
Feb 9, 2017
463
112
Santa Rosa Beach
And it’s a 19 year average not where it might be on a given day.

The MHWL in Walton is 0.74 feet EL using the NAVD88 data sphere or "plane" so where the NAV88 intersects the sand 0.74 ft EL is the MHWL. This plane the surveyor can measure and mark. Walton BCC measured the MHWL for all Walton littoral properties during the failed beach fortification fiasco in 2013(?) and could do it again whenever they want. The beach 0.74 EL doesn't change much (I've had my MHWL surveyed multiple times) in Walton unless a major weather event occurs then avulsion would likely apply and the property boundary would remain the same.

There seems to be the (1) theory, measured over 18.6 years, and (2) calculated, measured over months, methods.
I suspect Walton does not know how the MHWL is really measured either.

FL Statue MHWL Definition
Statutes & Constitution :View Statutes : Online Sunshine

(14) “Mean high water” means the average height of the high waters over a 19-year period. For shorter periods of observation, “mean high water” means the average height of the high waters after corrections are applied to eliminate known variations and to reduce the result to the equivalent of a mean 19-year value.

LABINS - Survey Data for Florida, aerial images.
FDEP TIDE METHODOLOGIES
http://www.labins.org/survey_data/water/procedures_and_forms/Methodologies/TideMethodologies.pdf

UF Water Boundaries Book 1983 George M. Cole, PhD, PE, PLS
"Water Boundries"

NOAA Panama City Beach station datum
Datums - NOAA Tides & Currents

Won't even get into erosion, reliction, and accretion, or avulsion. But if a property owner had MHWL surveys before the hurricanes and avulsion occurred; theoretically the property boundary could be in the water below the MHWL.
 

miznotebook

Beach Fanatic
Jul 8, 2009
962
603
Stone's throw from Inlet Bch
Why bring up the fact/make the point? I guess it is because this is a right in the Florida Constitution that means something to me as one of "all the people." I enjoy walking along the beach. If I have to walk in the wet sand or even in the water in some areas, I guess I can live with that.
 

John G

Beach Fanatic
Jul 16, 2014
1,803
553
Why is it that a majority of people think they can't walk along the beach? I've heard this ever since this nonsense started.

That was never the case and will not be the case. No private property owner has ever said that they want to prevent people from Walking On The Beach.

What is the case is that there are some people that don't just walk along the beach. They stop, they sit, they fish, they BBQ, they urinate and defecate in the dunes, the let their unlicensed dogs on the beach also urinate and defecate in the dunes, they leave glass bottles behind, they make tent cities, the list goes on. This takes place on peoples private property.

At least now, those Private Property Owners can clearly mark their areas and people can be aware of what is public and what is private.

So far the best idea I've hear is from FL Beach Bum. Please note the specific verbiage that seems to be a constant on this and other commentary sites as it pertains to this county. Educate. Enforce.

"About 20 miles or 75% of Walton littoral beachfront property is privately owned to the MHWL. I know it makes too much sense but shouldn’t Walton BCC/TDC mark the 6 miles of publicly owned property and north/south beach access lanes to the MHWL? Then by default the other 75% is private. Walton already marks 50% of the public beach fronts now for vendor use areas. Of course only the vendors know where those public areas are. But the key is for the TDC to educate the public with their $20 MILLION a year in taxes where the public beaches are, that the public is on private property outside the marked public areas, to respect private property and constitutional rules, then ENFORCE the rules."
 
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