From Walton Sun
Residents near the Greenwood Beach access are concerned with the use of dark sand in beach and dune restoration.
Prior to Aug. 1, the Walton Board of County Commissioners allowed a darker sand graded at 6.2 to be used in restoration projects. After complaints from residents, the standard was raised to 7.2 graded sand which then has to be capped with at least three feet of 8.1 white grade beach sand so none of the dark sand will show.
One project in the Greenwood Beach area is currently using the lower grade, darker sand and residents are worried about the darker degradation of the iconic white sand.
Kevin Hargett, code enforcement coordinator said the project was contracted out before the Aug. 1 deadline but didn?t start until recently so.
The dark sand looks worse than it is, said Hargett. He said it will whiten over time as moisture dries up and the sun takes color out of it. The dark sand will be topped off with three feet of white beach sand.
Owl?s Head Sod Farm in Freeport sells white beach grade sand for $14 a cubic yard. One cubic yard weighs around 2,200 pounds. The tan sand goes for $12 a cubic yard, said Brad Simpson, Owl?s Head business manager.
After the white sand is mined, it is washed and cleaned of all the dirt, rocks and other debris.
?When we mine it is already fairly white,? Simpson said. ?We wash it and filter it to get out the rock particles and clean the dirt out of it.?
The use of dark sand still has some residents worried.
?It still is not appropriate sand,? Seagrove resident Richard Butela said. ?Once that sand mixes with the white sand after the next storm you can?t get it out.?
Residents near the Greenwood Beach access are concerned with the use of dark sand in beach and dune restoration.
Prior to Aug. 1, the Walton Board of County Commissioners allowed a darker sand graded at 6.2 to be used in restoration projects. After complaints from residents, the standard was raised to 7.2 graded sand which then has to be capped with at least three feet of 8.1 white grade beach sand so none of the dark sand will show.
One project in the Greenwood Beach area is currently using the lower grade, darker sand and residents are worried about the darker degradation of the iconic white sand.
Kevin Hargett, code enforcement coordinator said the project was contracted out before the Aug. 1 deadline but didn?t start until recently so.
The dark sand looks worse than it is, said Hargett. He said it will whiten over time as moisture dries up and the sun takes color out of it. The dark sand will be topped off with three feet of white beach sand.
Owl?s Head Sod Farm in Freeport sells white beach grade sand for $14 a cubic yard. One cubic yard weighs around 2,200 pounds. The tan sand goes for $12 a cubic yard, said Brad Simpson, Owl?s Head business manager.
After the white sand is mined, it is washed and cleaned of all the dirt, rocks and other debris.
?When we mine it is already fairly white,? Simpson said. ?We wash it and filter it to get out the rock particles and clean the dirt out of it.?
The use of dark sand still has some residents worried.
?It still is not appropriate sand,? Seagrove resident Richard Butela said. ?Once that sand mixes with the white sand after the next storm you can?t get it out.?