North-end sand never a long-term solution

Gene Jaleski told the Longboat Key Town Commission the north end of Longboat Key is losing sand. In a Sept. 9 email to Mayor Jim Brown, Jaleski wrote:

“Today, I measured the distance from the seawall at Longbeach Coquina building to the 3-foot escarpment that runs for hundreds of yards at the north end. I feel the 3-foot escarpment is a safety hazard as well as making it difficult to get to and from the water. More disturbing is the fact that the distance between the seawall and the water is now 17 feet and diminishing daily. If sand loss continues at the current rate, there will be no beach by the end of October with the winter storms approaching.”

But, according to Longboat Key Public Works Director Juan Florensa, the 133,000 cubic yards of sand deposited as part of the emergency north-end beach project completed in June was never meant to be a long-term solution to north-end erosion.

Some sand loss is expected following any beach renourishment, Florensa said, because of a process known as equilibration, in which some sand naturally erodes. Because of that process, extra sand is deposited during a project.

But Florensa said the $4.5 million project was only meant to last a year.

“We did this so that Longbeach Coquina would have protection for the summer,” he said.

Florensa said that long-term solutions, including structures and sand placement, are in the works, although they won’t come quickly. The town has applied for permits from regulatory agencies, but the permits could take at least a year to obtain.

“Basically, you have an erosive area that cannot be fixed with sand alone,” Florensa said.