02/22/06 - Sandestin, Florida

Western Walton County Beach Restoration Project - The large scale beach restoration project includes replenishing roughly 3 million cubic yards of sand on five miles of beaches in Walton County and two miles in the City of Destin. The project is a joint effort between Walton County and the City of Destin to repair critically eroded beaches due to successive storms.
Dredging, shipping, pumping and spreading sand from the East Pass at Destin onto the beach at Sandestin. The beginning of a beach restoration project stretching from just east of Sandestin westward to Henderson Beach State Park in Destin. Planning and permitting took eight years.
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More info at www.protectwaltoncountybeaches.com

Lots of excitement for Sandestin snowbirds. The total project cost is $23 million. The five miles of beaches in Walton County will cost approximately $16 million. Walton County bed tax collections will cover $3 million, state grants will cover $5 million, and the Walton County TDC has secured an $8 million loan that is pledged against future bed tax revenue. Bed tax is paid solely by the visitors to South Walton County. No monies have been derived from Walton County Ad Valorem taxes.

The method involves dredging sand from an underwater borrow site approximately one mile south of East Pass into the center, or hopper, of the Liberty Island Dredge. The dredge then sails to the discharge area and hooks to a submerged pipeline where the material is then pumped onto the beach. The dredge then detaches from the pipeline and returns to the borrow site near East Pass to begin another dredging cycle. The sand is used to elevate the existing beach, construct a dune and widen the beach.
 

Brad Pickel, Walton County Director of Beach Management, and Kriss Titus, Executive Director of the Walton County Tourist Development Council,  discuss the project. Specified within the project bid, the contractor has 150 days to complete the project. In order for Great Lakes Dredge and Dock Company to meet this requirement, it must proceed as efficiently as possible. This means the project will be underway 24-hours a day, 7-days a week and will move from east to west, beginning with the farthest beaches from the borrow site. The project will begin at Four Mile Village in Walton County and end at Henderson State Park in Destin.

The beach will be about 75-100 feet wider, and 3-8 feet higher. For the first month or so, the sand will look a shade darker than the native sand because it has been underwater. Once it is exposed to the sun, rain and wind, the new sand will lighten and match the color of the native sugar-white sand.

A slurry of sand and sea water is pumped from the dredge ship onto the beach.