FORT MYERS BEACH, Fla. — The Lee County Commissioners awarded $39.2 million on Tuesday to fund a large-scale beach renourishment project for Lovers Key and the Bonita Beach shoreline.
The project aims to restore beaches and protect the coastline, but some people on Fort Myers Beach have expressed concerns about the quality of the sand being used for the ongoing Estero Island Project.
WATCH FOX 4'S FULL COVERAGE FROM FORT MYERS BEACH COMMUNITY CORRESPONDENT ANVAR RUZIEV:
During a Fort Myers Beach town council meeting on September 9th, a resident voiced his frustration over the sand being pumped onto their shoreline, claiming it contains large amounts of shell rock and debris.
"It is full of shell rock and innumerable shards," said Ron Flemming, a local resident. "I implore you to go down to the beach and see for yourself."
In response to these complaints, we conducted a side-by-side comparison between the renourished sand and the original sand found near Times Square. Armed with a sifter, we sifted through the sand at renourished areas of the beach and found numerous shell fragments in every sample.
"There is a difference between the white sugar sand, as I call it, and the dredged-up sand. There are definitely little pieces of shells and things like that," said Mark Ashton, another local resident.
We compared these samples with sand from sections near Times Square, where the sand appeared finer, smoother, and contained far fewer shell fragments.
Beachgoers in the area confirmed the difference.
"It just feels soft, smooth, no shells or anything like that," one visitor noted.
Despite the concerns raised by residents, the town maintains that the renourished sand meets all required specifications. In a statement, officials acknowledged that some shell fragments are to be expected, but assured that the methods being used are consistent with previous renourishment efforts, such as the 2012 project, which produced similar results.
The renourishment projects for Bonita Springs and Lovers Key are set to begin on October 15 and are expected to last for eight months. Although work zones will be closed during sand placement, the beaches will remain open for public use in other areas.
FULL PRESS RELEASE FROM LEE COUNTY ABOUT THE NEW BEACH RENOURISHMENT PROJECT:
The Lee Board of County Commissioners voted Tuesday to award a nearly $39.2 contract to nourish beaches on Lovers Key and Bonita Beach to address chronic erosion as well as damage caused by Hurricane Ian in September 2022.
The main project consists of 1.1 miles of shoreline within Lovers Key State Park and 0.8 miles of shoreline at the northern end of Bonita Beach (Little Hickory Island). In addition, in cooperation with the City of Bonita Springs, hurricane damage to the upper beach and dunes will be repaired on a one-time basis extended south on Bonita Beach to the Lee-Collier County line. Weeks Marine Inc. will excavate, transport and place beach-compatible sand from a Gulf of Mexico sand source to nourish multiple beach segments.
The Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) has designated the main project area as critically eroded. The Lovers Key segment will be completed using funds from Lee County’s Tourist Development Tax – a tax on short-term lodging – funding from FDEP, and Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Disaster Relief Fund. The Bonita Beach segment will include funding from the Tourist Development Tax, FDEP, FEMA, and City of Bonita Springs. A south Bonita Beach segment will be solely funded by FDEP through the City of Bonita Springs.
The funding sources are:The project is scheduled to begin Oct. 15, and will be complete by mid-June 2025. Beaches will remain open, except in the safety zones where sand is actively being placed.
- FDEP − $23.6 million
- Lee County − $7.7 million
- City of Bonita Springs − $5.8 million
- FEMA − $2 million
In related business, the Board of County Commissioners voted to:The project includes restoring three public beach access points along Bonita Beach, which sustained significant structural damage from Hurricane Ian. The affected structures include the restroom and county office building at Bonita Beach Park, two restroom buildings at Little Hickory Island Beach Park, and the wooden boardwalks and pavilions at all three parks. The restroom buildings at Little Hickory Island Beach Park will be replaced, while the Bonita Beach Park restrooms and county office building will be repaired.
- Adopt a resolution supporting an application for additional grant funding from FDEP. The grant funding will be used to reimburse expenses for beach nourishment and inlet management projects including Bonita Beach Nourishment, Bonita Beach Groin Repair, and Lover’s Key Nourishment projects.
- Awarded a $571,100 contract to Weston & Sampson Engineers, Inc. to provide design, permitting, and construction administration services to restore Bonita Beach Park, Bonita Beach Access 1, and Little Hickory Island Beach Park.
This project will be funded through FEMA’s Disaster Relief Fund.
STATEMENT FROM TOWN OF FORT MYERS BEACH ABOUT REQUIREMENTS FOR DREDGED SAND:
The Town’s Coastal Engineer has been conducting routine site observations, evaluating sediment quality, and taking representative sediment samples. To date the sediment meets the specifications for beach compatible sand in terms of our visual assessment of color, grain size, % coarse material (<5% retained on No 4 sieve [0.2 inches]) and % silts/fines (<5% passing No 200 sieve [0.003 inches]). This is a nearshore sand source that contains shell and shell is to be expected. And while rock is not desirable, there are offshore rock hardbottom areas in the region so it is possible the dredge will occasionally encounter rock. There are strict specs for how to address if rock is encountered.
The Town and Coastal Engineering Consultants have responsibility for verifying sediment quality. We collect samples at random places on the beach routinely. As we complete each segment (North, Central, and South) samples will be sent to a lab for testing.
The contractor also has a responsibility for sediment quality assurance and quality control. Further, CEC is monitoring their cutterhead records. They did run / are running a progress survey of the borrow area to verify their dredging to date has been within the permitted template.
As with the original 2012 project, the sediment is being excavated from the nearshore borrow area in Matanzas Pass and hydraulically pumped to the beach in a slurry that is approximately 20% sediment and 80% water. Over time as the water drains and dissipates, and as the sun bleaches it, the sediment will appear to be like the native beach. As storms overwash the beach, the new sediment will mix with the existing sediment as well as the sediment trucked in from the inland mine to build the berms. Winds will blow finer particles and move sediment around too.
In summary, the Town was satisfied with the sand on North Estero from the 2011 project, and we expect satisfaction with the sand from the same burrow area at the end of this project.
