$20M To Be Spent On Emergency Erosion Control At Pinellas Beaches

CLEARWATER, FL — Erosion caused by Hurricane Idalia was worsened by the four tornadoes that the National Weather Service confirmed touched down in Tampa Bay last week.

On Wednesday, Pinellas County Coastal Management Coordinator John Bishop asked residents to stay off the sand dunes already ravaged by the hurricane and then further damaged by the tornadoes while the county completes emergency beach restoration.

The county is spending about $20 million Tourist Development Taxes (known as bed taxes) a 6 percent tax generated by tourists for overnight stays in Pinellas County.

Since the beaches are so important to the county's tourism industry, the Pinellas County Commission deemed this a wise use of the bed taxes.

“We like to say it’s ‘From visitors with love’ because those funds that are attributed to and provide those attractions visitors use while they are here enjoying our destination, residents get to take advantage of them year-round," said newly appointed Visit St. Pete/Clearwater President and CEO Brian Lowack. “

“We lost whole dunes, back to the parking lot in some areas,” said Bishop. “These dunes add a lot of added protection for our community, for the infrastructure, public infrastructure, the homes, they help to stop the storm surge. But, they don’t help do that if they are gone.”

The beaches had already experienced a great deal of erosion after Hurricane Idalia made its way up the west coast as a Category 4 hurricane before making landfall in the Big Bend area of Florida on Aug. 30, said Bishop.

“After Hurricane Idalia, our beaches were the most eroded that I’ve seen since I’ve been here," he said. "We’ve lost dunes across the county, and we were probably one of the worst hit for beach erosion from Idalia in the state. So we’ve been working tirelessly to try to put some protection in place.”

The combination of storm surge and 130 to 156 mph winds washed away and destabilized sand dunes all along the Pinellas County coast.

According to the NWS, the beaches took another hit when tornadoes struck Oldsmar, Dunedin-Clearwater, Trinity and Belleair on Oct. 12.

The Trinity and Belleair tornadoes had a maximum wind speed of 80 mph and the Oldsmar tornado reached a speed of 85 mph, making all three EF-0 tornadoes, the weakest rating on the Fujita Scale.

The Dunedin-Clearwater tornado had a top wind speed of 115 mph, making it an EF-2 tornado.

In some areas, the tornado flattened mobile homes and other structures.

Sand dunes are part of the natural Florida coastal ecosystem, providing protection against storm surge and tides. This protection translates to a reduction in coastal flooding and structural damage.

This ecosystem also provides a critical habitat for marine life so it's vital to protect them and, when needed, invest in their restoration, said Bishop.

The county was in the midst of erosion restoration work on Sunset Beach in Treasure Island when the tornadoes struck.

After shoring up the impacted ledges with truckloads of sand, a contractor will now come in and plant vegetation (mostly sea oats) along the dunes to hold the sand in place. The work is expected to be completed by Oct. 30.

“We are planting four different native species of grasses,” said Pinellas County environmental specialist Lauren Doing. “We are hoping by planting this vegetation that it will provide that extra layer of stabilization. But, in order for the dunes to be able to protect from wave energy and from winds and from storm surges even, it is important they remain intact and stable.”

Residents and visitors are reminded to stay off the dunes and outside of the active beach construction areas for their own safety and to preserve the dunes.

Indian Rocks Beach is scheduled next for restoration.

Emergency beach restoration will also take place at Pass-a-Grille, Belleair Beach and Upham Beach.

The county said work on Belleair Beach began Oct. 3 and is expected to be completed Nov. 24.

Work on Upham Beach in St. Pete Beach began Monday and is expected to be completed by Nov. 19.

Completion of restoration work at Pass-a-Grille on St. Pete Beach is harder to pinpoint. Pinellas County has had ongoing problems with beach erosion and sand loss on Pass-a-Grille so it's more difficult to determine the measures needed to temporarily stabilize the beach before work continues on a permanent fix.

More than 21 of the county’s 35 miles of beaches were in critical need of restoration before Idalia, said Bishop.

To place the necessary sand and construct the dunes, Pinellas County had to obtain short-term construction easements from some property owners. These easements are temporary and different from the perpetual easements required for projects by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.