VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. — The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is placing equipment on the beach in Ponce Inlet for a dredging project. This will help replace sand lost during Hurricanes Ian and Nicole in 2022.
Unlike other dredging operations Eyewitness News has reported on, the county explained that sand will be stockpiled into mounds and trucked to other parts of the beach.
It’s been almost three years since relentless wind, waves, and storm surges severely eroded parts of Volusia County’s coast during Hurricanes Ian and Nicole. Losing all that sand destroyed dunes, seawalls, and homes.
“We lost about 3 million cubic yards of sand from the dry beach and another 3 million in the near shore,” said Niles Cyzycki, Activity Project Manager for the Volusia County Coastal Division.
The pipes that now line parts of the beach promise to replace some of that sand. Cyzyxki explained about 900,000 cubic yards of sand will be dredged from the inlet.
“We are going to plant the new dunes with you know salt tolerant vegetation, that kind of holds it together and it is really that first line of defense from hurricanes, nor’easters and even high tide events,” said Cyzycki.
The project brings peace of mind people have been waiting for.
“If the beaches were back to normal and we don’t have to worry about our houses floating out, then yeah we are good,” said resident Joey Anselmo.
Cyzycki said this project should improve the coastline, but it won’t solve all the issues.
“Beach nourishment has to be maintained, and this is a small project. Really a dune restoration. So, it’s going to take multiple events to return the sand to the system, kind of to combat coastal erosion is and ongoing process with sand,” said Cyzycki.
The work will continue through the early fall. The beach will remain open during that time, but some areas may have limited access while equipment is moving. County leaders said it’s important to stay clear of the pipeline and equipment.
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