Debby Eroded Pinellas Beaches

Tropical Storm Debby may have swept away $25 million of beach sand, along the Pinellas County coast, from Sand Key to Sunset Beach.

That is the conclusion of a veteran researcher from the University of South Florida.

Dr. Ping Wang has spent 11 years studying Pinellas beaches and never saw erosion like the effects from Tropical Storm Debby.

Wang, a professor from the USF Department of Geology, has created profiles of miles of beaches in order to have recent information to compare to after storms come.

So with a study for comparison from weeks before Tropical Storm Debby brought several days of strong, sustained southerly winds June 23-27, Wang knew what the beach looked like after the two-foot storm surge receded.

The waters took with them an estimated $25 million worth of sand, possibly 630,900 cubic yards, from along Pinellas County beaches from Sand Key to Sunset beach, according to the study released this week, and now county officials want to increase nourishment efforts to protect the coast.

“Debby is the worst beach erosion wise,” Wang said. “Debby is not a strong storm. It’s just the right storm.”

Beaches Need Help in Recovery

Some of the beach will recover on its own, but other parts will need the help of workers and heavy equipment.

Andy Squires, director of coastal management for the county, would like to use the dredge equipment that is already adding sand as part of to the end of the county's coast.

The $31.5 million project to fill 1.25 million cubic yards of sand from Sand Key to North Redington Beach, which includes Indian Rocks Beach, is expected to be complete in November. The sand is being pumped from the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico 12 miles west of Sand Key.

Squires said the project still was in the beginning phases and about 20 percent complete. Still, he estimates that when the project is finished, it will be with about 25 percent less sand than expected because of Debby.

Squires said impact at Honeymoon Island was $306,000, and at the south beaches at Ft. Desoto Park it was $560,000. However, those beaches are not eligible for federal aid.

Squires said he is waiting every day to find out if the county is getting money needed for the beaches. He said he has not heard yet as to when federal emergency funds will be available to replace sand lost along the Pinellas beaches from Tropical Storm Debby.

Squires also is working on an application to the state to be able to dredge and nourish other parts of the coast.

Dunes Do Their Job

Dunes were cut into by the high waters in many areas, called scarp. They lost from 10 feet to as many as 30 at Sunset Beach.

“They really did their job” Squires said referring to the dunes.

Dune scarp was along most of Sand Key beach, with dune loss ranging from 4 to 19 feet. Dune erosion also resulted in a loss of 36,400 cubic yards of sand.

Sand Key, the southern portions of the barrier island, Madeira Beach and Redington Beach have been stable over the last two decades and were not nourished recently. These two sections of beach suffered severe beach and dune erosion.

The dry beach along Sand Key lost 117,500 cubic yards of sand, and the overall sand loss was 424,000 cubic yards.

“If you look back to years ago,” Squires said, referring to before the sea oat program really started helping establish dune areas along the beaches, “those dunes have done their job.”

Disappearing Sands

Wang said the sand loss estimates come from measuring shore and dune lines. The estimates come from looking at 145 different lines along the beach. Part of the survey looks at the performance of nourishment efforts. The nourishment project made the survey in Sand Key somewhat inaccurate.

Wang said there was more erosion along the south beaches including Pass-A-Grill, Sunset, Redington and Madeira. He said that Belleair beaches gained sand.

The more narrow beach areas were also hit harder. Or at least give that appearance.

“It makes the beach look substantially eroded,” Wang said.

But where did it all go?

Just off the shores of Sand Key is a sand bar. If fact, there are some along much of the coast.

While the total sand loss along Sand Key is 424,000 cubic yards, the nearshore bar gained 445,600 cubic yards. Countywide, the beaches lost an estimated 630,900 cubic yards of sand and the sand bars accumulated 657,700 cubic yards.

“Most of the sand did just go offshore,” Wang said, adding that this actually could help protect the beaches as waves will break against those areas before crashing on shore.