Legalizing seawalls

[ASH]

Partly right and partly wrong. There were many who ask what they could do and were misinformed or misled on every level. There were some who didn't ask or went on the "forgiveness" assumption.
Now, no one wants to really address the issue sensibly, IMO. There has never been this type of armoring constructed in the U.S. or elsewhere that I am aware of. It is strictly for structure protection, not even close to the water and buried under tons of sand. Where is the erosion factor? I am not a marine scientist but common sense seems to say where the water isn't lapping the armoring, and the armoring can't even be seen, little damage is occurring, but of course I could be wrong.

Andy, you know I love you man, but I must disagree. You only need to walk down half those 69 steps and look either direction to note how much of that bank is already gone. What is that drop off like right now? 15 feet! More? How much more will come down this year in the storms coming before that seawall is exposed?

I don't understand all the wording going on in the proposed bill, but aren't there some questions about costs incurred being shifted to taxpayers who may not have agreed with the armoring in the first place.

I don't hide my opinion regarding turtles and I haven't completely made my decision regarding homes being so close to the gulf, but I do have an opinion when it's my tax dollars.

Who understands and can speak to the money shift to tax payers this bill might cause?

 

[Andy A]

Andy, you know I love you man, but I must disagree. You only need to walk down half those 69 steps and look either direction to note how much of that bank is already gone. What is that drop off like right now? 15 feet! More? How much more will come down this year in the storms coming before that seawall is exposed?

I don't understand all the wording going on in the proposed bill, but aren't there some questions about costs incurred being shifted to taxpayers who may not have agreed with the armoring in the first place.

I don't hide my opinion regarding turtles and I haven't completely made my decision regarding homes being so close to the gulf, but I do have an opinion when it's my tax dollars.

Who understands and can speak to the money shift to tax payers this bill might cause?

I have no idea what the proposed language in the bill would be, Ash. I haven't seen the bill or any of the proposed wording. I understand there is some tweaking of the language in the bill before it is introduced, if it is introduced at all.
As for the drop off. You walk the beach often enough to know that not only does the shoreline change constantly, so does the slope of the dunes, even those created by the replacement of the sand lost during Dennis. It is true our cliff will never look the same as it did before Dennis but it is a lot better than if we had done nothing at all.
As for your tax dollars. I completely agree. The only cost of which I am aware, are the ones incurred by the beachfront property owners and mine and all others was substantial. I certainly don't expect anything back from the state or county, and to the best of my knowledge, none have been requested by our group.
One more thing. We were told by our engineer that over time the slope of the replaced sand would reach a degree of about 2:1. It would appear that is what has happened. I see no great degree of deterioration in the amount of sand covering the wall, only an increase in the slope of the dune. But the degree of slope at this point is in the eye of the beholder.

 

[scooterbug44]

The angle of repose for dry sand is around 30 degrees so odds are quite good that is the slope.

P.S. Hitting a 1:2 slope (26.5 degrees) with massive underpinnings and hundreds of thousands of dollars isn't exactly a marvel of engineering. The laws of physics dictate a max 30 degree slope every time. ;-)

 

[John R]

I certainly don't expect anything back from the state or county, and to the best of my knowledge, none have been requested by our group.

This is the part I find astonishing; that anyone who built on sand, next to the sea, would expect any amount of money from the govt. What justification could there possibly be?

 

[Bob]

a direct cat 3 hurricane will silence both sides and show the folly of seawalls

 

[scooterbug44]

Won't even take a direct cat 3 - I've seen some great scour from 2s and below.