Study on Geotubes in Texas

[Smiling JOe]

Ro does not have a fax machine (seriously) and while he has an email address, Email: cucro@co.walton.fl.us, he has no idea how to use a computer, ;-) so unless someone retrieves his mail and prints it for him, he will not see it. Also, forget about Ro doing anything outside of his own interests.

 

[Smiling JOe]

OK, I'll bite (not I bite for the benefit of my detractors) ;-) . What's the significance of this picture?

TIA

The significance is that you will think the sand in this photo looks bright white when those geotubes get ripped open and leak all of the dirt (not to be confused with sand) onto the beaches. The sand in the photo is a far cry from the white powder which used to be on the beach. This new sand is a mixutre and includes some of the brown sand, probably not meeting the Munsel scale requirement prescribed by local Walton County Law, which was imported onto the beach.

 

[BlueMtnBeachVagrant]

Much of the sand placed in front of this newly installed seawall behind a condo just west of the regional beach access in Blue Mountain Beach has already begun to wash away. Will homeowners be able to keep sand in front of these walls or will we be left with a narrow beach bordered by a stark seawall? Will we have any beach at all?"

Here's just another example of the slanted view and spin you put on things. You are your own worst enemy.

Since you like to document all the gloom and doom and be an alarmist while you're at it....

1. Why didn't you photograph the beach a couple of hundred feet east of there and couple of hundred feet west of there at the same instant? If you did, your "other" pictures would have shown how unusually wide the beach was in both of those of those places compared to the one place you photographed. You know how the waterline changes shapes.

2. Why didn't you, at least, qualify the current conditions of the weather when you shot these pictures. You know damn well how unusual the conditions were that day. Without any clarification, one just assumes just another normal sunny day. BUT YOU DON'T HAVE THE BEACH BALLS TO MENTION IT WHATSOVER IN YOUR POSTS. It just might not be in the interest of supporting and continuing your propaganda. Imagine that.

3. You use words "Much of the sand .... has already begun to wash away." What is your definition of "Much"? Is it 50%? Is it 40%? Is it 30%? Is it 20%? Is it 10%? Please tell me. Once you do, I'll give you my estimate.

What really really really pisses me off about your post, is that you've upset CastlesofSand.....

This pic makes me really sad.

Feel better? Sleep tight.

 

[BlueMtnBeachVagrant]

Ro does not have a fax machine (seriously) and while he has an email address, Email: cucro@co.walton.fl.us, he has no idea how to use a computer, ;-) so unless someone retrieves his mail and prints it for him, he will not see it. Also, forget about Ro doing anything outside of his own interests.

I admit it was more of rhetorical smart-@ss type of question. No disagreement.

 

[BlueMtnBeachVagrant]

I suspect the county will be saddled with the tab to maintain and repair seawalls and geotubes.

The argument from the GF owners will be: (1) You (the county)"allowed" them to be built in the first place (same argument for allowing seawall protection of the GF homes that were "allowed" to be built); and (2) The beach is the cash cow of the community, without it this resort is nothing.

The dye has been cast, the seawalls and geotubes are here...this is now SoWal's future. The county needs to start assessing higher taxes (homeowners & bed) in preparation for this inevitable expense.

Shelly,

Don't worry, I'm maintaining my "maintenance free" retaining wall.

However, most of the walls are built on private property and are private property themselves. I would imagine if a wall weakened to the point of being a danger, the county could force the homeowner to remove it or repair it at the homeowner's expense.

If a wall failed and disappeared, the county should come up with a "standardized" cleanup fee based on footage and type of material that will be assessed back to the owner. I support that. It's another expense that forces owners to "put their money where their retaining wall is".

I don't know about the private retaining walls on public property thing. It would make sense that they would be handled to the same.

 

[BlueMtnBeachVagrant]

Shelly,

Now that I know what SJ's dark sand picture was all about, I realize I didn't provide a complete response. That is...

What happen's when a geotube fails? Again, it's the responsibility of the homeowner to repair.

But... if it fails in a major way, I guess SJ is inferring the darker color will "pollute" our beach. This is a problem that's not easily cleaned up (regarding the dark sand itself).

Anyone else with an idea?

 

[Dave Rauschkolb]

Funny what a lot of people fail to understand is there will be no beach behind these seawalls. We won't be able to walk down the beach anymore; just swim along the walls.

 

[BlueMtnBeachVagrant]

Funny what a lot of people fail to understand is there will be no beach behind these seawalls. We won't be able to walk down the beach anymore; just swim along the walls.

Dave,

Do you think anybody here truly fails to understand that possibiliy?

I've expressed your concern in several one on one conversations as the worse case scenario...not a great image, I admit.

Since you started this thread, I had suggested to others (this thread or the other?) that renourishment is the only real practical solution. I acknowledge that a few others did say they supported beach renourishment but the "intensity" of the discussion of this VERY important soultion is a little wanting.

Did anyone read the front page article in the mid-week Destin Log regarding the partially completed beach renourishment project? Seems to be a success all the way around (so far).

I would like to hear some discussion on where we go from here. We might be beating the retaining wall issue to death.

Can we all agree on this?... Some walls will survive. Some walls will fail. Geotubes will help somewhat. Some geotubes will survive. Some geotubes will fail.

Now, Dave, do you believe in renourishment? I think this will prevent the "worse case scenario" that you and I fear.

Somehow, I wonder if some people are really not addressing the renourishment issue in a significant way because if it is successful, it makes the whole retaining wall issue a moot point. Then these threads would not be quite as fun ! ;-)

Respectfully,
BMBV

 

[Kurt]

Dave,

Do you think anybody here truly fails to understand that possibiliy?

I've expressed your concern in several one on one conversations as the worse case scenario...not a great image, I admit.

Since you started this thread, I had suggested to others (this thread or the other?) that renourishment is the only real practical solution. I acknowledge that a few others did say they supported beach renourishment but the "intensity" of the discussion of this VERY important soultion is a little wanting.

Did anyone read the front page article in the mid-week Destin Log regarding the partially completed beach renourishment project? Seems to be a success all the way around (so far).

I would like to hear some discussion on where we go from here. We might be beating the retaining wall issue to death.

Can we all agree on this?... Some walls will survive. Some walls will fail. Geotubes will help somewhat. Some geotubes will survive. Some geotubes will fail.

Now, Dave, do you believe in renourishment? I think this will prevent the "worse case scenario" that you and I fear.

Somehow, I wonder if some people are really not addressing the renourishment issue in a significant way because if it is successful, it makes the whole retaining wall issue a moot point. Then these threads would not be quite as fun ! ;-)

Respectfully,
BMBV

I do recall DR supporting dredge and fill of all the beaches. Maybe not the best solution but a compromise which seems to be moving forward and funds will be provided for, at least for the first few times it happens.

 

[Kurt]

Here's just another example of the slanted view and spin you put on things. You are your own worst enemy.

Since you like to document all the gloom and doom and be an alarmist while you're at it....

1. Why didn't you photograph the beach a couple of hundred feet east of there and couple of hundred feet west of there at the same instant? If you did, your "other" pictures would have shown how unusually wide the beach was in both of those of those places compared to the one place you photographed. You know how the waterline changes shapes.

2. Why didn't you, at least, qualify the current conditions of the weather when you shot these pictures. You know damn well how unusual the conditions were that day. Without any clarification, one just assumes just another normal sunny day. BUT YOU DON'T HAVE THE BEACH BALLS TO MENTION IT WHATSOVER IN YOUR POSTS. It just might not be in the interest of supporting and continuing your propaganda. Imagine that.

3. You use words "Much of the sand .... has already begun to wash away." What is your definition of "Much"? Is it 50%? Is it 40%? Is it 30%? Is it 20%? Is it 10%? Please tell me. Once you do, I'll give you my estimate.

What really really really pisses me off about your post, is that you've upset CastlesofSand.....


Feel better? Sleep tight.

I also find myself fighting the urge to post pictures of the worst cases. But that is what interests people and the worst photos are nonetheless valid and are pictures of reality.

The conditions of that day, while rough, are not all that uncommon. Just high surf which we have many days of they year, nowhere near the storm conditions which we have seen too much of. If nothing else the pic is an example of what we will see a lot of in the coming days. Very minor storm event in the near furure will cause boardwalks to be damaged and seawalls to be uncovered in narrow or normal stretches of beach. Not only because of natural erosion but of what is proving to be unwise lowering of beach levels by "scraping".