As Erosion Rears Its Head, Beach Renourishment is a Must

As a fairly new Florida condo owner, it has come to my attention that many of our beaches are in need of sand re-nourishment. The last visit we made to our property, we experienced a storm for two days, which ate away at least 25 feet of shoreline. Normally the gradual drop off along the shoreline was gentle. It became a 4-foot drop off. In some places, beach front units were only yards away from this erosion. Should any of these waves breached the safe areas, the condo owners would have been facing a financial emergency.

For years, local residents in this area have resisted artificial beach nourishment, and are now realizing the error in their ways. The cost will now be passed on to all current owners, not only the residents. Those non-residents, of which I am a part, will share the burden of keeping our shoreline nourished. We are basically playing catchup, because previous voters wanted the beach to "stay natural". There are times when natural does not work. In the longrun, the costs to catch up will soon sting the very pocketbooks of those who have opposed it.

I'm sure for all coastal property owners, that this conundrum has been a source of controversy and frustration for many years. It's not always about the property owners alone. The survival of the tourism industry stands to lose out in the end. This problem trickles down to every shop owner, restaurant and any other business that anticipate profits from the very tourists that frequent their businesses. If the tourists don't have decent beaches to play on, they won't come. All businesses lose out and eventually popular coastal towns can kiss their dollars goodbye.

The other side of the picture is quite vital to the health of the wildlife and the natural resources of the areas in question. It is our responsibility as stewards of our beautiful coastlines to protect and preserve them. It's sad enough to watch every mile of beach-front property lined up with towering hotels and condos. Instead of finding more creative and less intrusive means of providing accommodations for vacationers, contractors assume that high rises are still the only way to go. Old school thinking. What they fail to realize is that while they bring in droves of sun seekers, they are also spoiling what used to be healthy and previously scenic locations. Who wants to drive down a beach front roadway, only to see the front entries of hundreds of condos and hotels? These towering behemoths cast a disappointing shadow onto the very shorelines which all landlocked visitors crave to enjoy. I say it's time we stepped back from the water's edge and look at the bigger picture.