Longboat Key Beaches

Information for the residents and taxpayers of Longboat Key about beach maintenance alternatives.
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Sources of Sand
 
The town recently decided to give our consulting company CP&E another $ 500,000.00 to continue their search for suitable sand deposits for the next beach nourishment project to take place whitin the next six or seven years. It seems that sand is becoming increasingly more difficult to find.
 
The local newspaper reported that CP&E told the town that to date the sand "barrow" sites they have looked at could cost the taxpayers up to $45 a cubic yard. The last renourishment used in excess of two million yards of sand. It is clear that the current policy of periodically replenishing the beaches is becoming increasingly costly.
 
Perhaps there are other solutions such as maintaining the beaches employing one or more of the alternative beach management tools described elsewhere on this web site.
 From the NOAA website: ( link to NOAA website )
 Probably the most important aspect of a nourishment project is locating appropriate sediment to place on the beach. More often than not this can be the most difficult undertaking of a nourishment project. This discussion will consider the depositional nature of environments that are candidates as potential borrow sites, and the types of sediment that each of these environments accumulate to assist decision-makers in understanding the nature of the sand sources available for a project. Many of these depositional environments are typically found on the seaward (as opposed to landward) side of a beach being nourished; however, a wide range of possible sources exists.
 
Offshore Linear Sand Bodies

Lying along the inner shelf areas of the Gulf and Atlantic Coasts are numerous large sand bodies containing millions of cubic meters of potential borrow material. These areas represent a variety of origins and positions relative to the beach where nourishment may be required. Four distinct types of offshore linear sand bodies include: drowned barrier islands; oblique sand bodies; longshore sand bars; and trough sand bodies. Each has the potential to provide sufficient high-quality material for beach nourishment.

 

Tidal Deltas

A large sediment body that accumulates on either the landward or seaward end of tidal inlets is referred to as a tidal delta (also called a tidal shoal) because these bodies mimic river deltas, and contain large amounts of sediment deposited at an inlet mouth. The presence and the size and shape of a particular tidal delta are determined by a number of factors. These include sediment availability, the interaction of wave and/or tidal processes, and the tidal flux occurring during a tidal cycle. The accumulation of sediment on the seaward side is referred to as an ebb-tidal delta (or ebb shoal). In contrast, the flood-tidal delta (or flood shoal) is found on the landward side of an inlet. These accumulations are among the largest sand bodies found along the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts, and can provide a major source for beach nourishment material.