PLACEMENT: Departmental
TITLE:
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STAFF PRESENTATION ON THE HISTORY OF BATHTUB BEACH
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
executive summary
As requested by Commissioner Smith, County staff and staff from Olsen and Associates will present information on the history of Bathtub Reef Beach and the engineering challenges associated with the unique natural resource.
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DEPARTMENT: Public Works
PREPARED BY: Name: Jessica Garland
Title: Coastal Program Manager
REQUESTED BY: Honorable County Commissioner, Doug Smith
PRESET: 10:00 AM
PROCEDURES: None
BACKGROUND/RELATED STRATEGIC GOAL:
Bathtub Beach and the adjacent Sailfish Point beaches have faced chronic erosion issues since the late 1990s, escalating significantly in fall 2007. Repeated dune breaches threatened MacArthur Boulevard and infrastructure, prompting emergency sand replenishment projects. Prior to 2016's engineered solutions, the dune served as a natural barrier, protecting MacArthur Boulevard, and experienced natural erosion to a stable limit along the shoreline.
Bathtub Beach and Sailfish Point beaches are a unique system, bound by an eastern reef hindering natural sand movement onshore and offshore and a southern inlet/jetty blocking northward sand movement. This necessitates a holistic, system-wide approach to beach management. This systematic approach is addressed by the State of Florida mandated St. Lucie Inlet Management Plan which facilitates sand bypass distribution from the inlet, impoundment basin, and navigation channels to replenish beaches north to Bathtub Beach and south on Jupiter Island.
Other management strategies include the first engineered beach project which was originally was built in 2016, stretching for about a mile north of Bathtub Reef Beach Park and extending south to Sailfish Point. This cyclic project replenishes sand every three to five years to continuously combat erosion. In 2019, a long-term agreement was established between the County, Sailfish Point P...
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