Shoreline Enhancement and Restoration
What do our beaches mean to Palm Beach County? They continue to attract residents,
visitors, and sea turtles to our shores. They protect our homes, our roads,
and our parks from an unsettled sea. They are home to many species of native
flora and fauna. But the beaches, by nature, are unstable. The beach along twenty
seven miles of our forty-five mile coastline in Palm Beach County is slowly
eroding away. Storm protection provided by the natural beach-dune system continues
to be compromised by coastal development, an inevitable aspect of a growing
community.
Together with local, state, and federal governments, Palm Beach County has
been working to counter the trend through the Shoreline Protection Plan. Over
the last ten years, 75 acres of dune and 17 miles of local beaches have been
restored. The 19 projects encompass more than twenty miles of threatened coastline
in areas with public access. Each project is designed to minimize environmental
impact and restore natural habitat. Project funding is provided by specific
federal appropriations, dedicated state grants, and local commitment.
County support for the Program includes ad-valorem funds and Tourism Development
tax revenue. Where development has impinged on the natural ebb and flow of beach
sand, erosion is likely to follow. Though there are no viable permanent solutions
to coastal erosion, the restoration and maintenance of coastal areas, via dune
restoration, beach
nourishment, and inlet
sand transfer, provides for continued shore protection, recreation, and
natural habitat. With continued intergovernmental cooperation and support, the
Shoreline Protection Program will continue to provide a stable strategy for
managing our unstable beaches.
Below are links to a few of Shoreline's past and current projects.
Check back often as we update and add information about our other countywide projects.
Some other useful links:
Coastal Resources
