FLAGLER COUNTY, Fla. – The state is giving Flagler County an additional $18 million for dune restoration. That’s on top of the $17 million the county was given in December as part of the governor’s state recovery plan after hurricanes Ian and Nicole.
County Engineer, Faith Alkhatib, said they will put that additional funding towards a major dredging project to bring sand in and hopefully reinforce much of the county’s dunes.
“We are getting closer to implementing our plan of doing a dredging operation for the 11.6 miles of Flagler County coastline,” she said.
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Alkhatib said they plan on using the now $35 million from the state on top of $6 million from FEMA to dredge sand from about 10 miles offshore. She said they would then place the sand from just north of Flagler Beach to the St. John’s county line.
“We’re going to be starting advertising for engineering services to start the design and permitting and it’ll usually take a year to 18 months to get that done,” she said.
The county has several other, smaller-scale dune restoration projects happening but recent storm surges in the last few months have already wiped away much of that sand.
“I think it’s a matter of desperation right now. Being on the end of two major storms, like Ian and Nicole, we had to do something,” said Beverly Beach resident and town clerk, Jim Ardell.
Flagler County received good news Tuesday when the Florida Department of Environmental Protection notified it that it was allocating an additional $18.06 million for dunes restoration. Read More Here: https://t.co/Cfjg8uMSRR pic.twitter.com/gtzoHbXzsb
— Flagler County Emergency Management (@FlaglerEOC) June 21, 2023
The dunes have severely eroded with each storm over the last decade. Ardell said many are hopeful about the dredging.
“There’s been a lot of residents especially on the ocean here who has asked about dredging because it’s been done before in the state of Florida,” he said.
The county said the dredging project should bring in enough sand to reinforce the dunes long term.
There will be a wait before that project gets started, leaving many of the beaches vulnerable in the meantime, but Ardell said they will take what they can get.
“I’m not sure what mother nature is going to do. We have no plans that can substantiate huge infrastructure, development or anything like that,” he said.
Alkhatib estimated that permitting and planning process to take 18 months, so the actual dredging likely won’t happen until 2025.
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