Vice Mayor Maria Marino

Palm Beach County's 47 mile coastline is a playground for millions of residents and tourists each year. Our beaches serve as one of the best defenses against wave damage caused by winter storms and hurricanes. However, the constant erosion of our beaches is an undeniable reality and maintaining the quality and sustainability of beaches is of the highest importance.

The Palm Beach County Department of Environmental Resources Management, through its Shoreline Enhancement and Restoration Program, builds environmentally-sensitive, cost effective projects to protect and restore the natural function of beaches and dunes. The Department encourages improved sand management practices at inlets and promotes the removal of non-native vegetation from sand dunes. Since 1989, Palm Beach County has participated in or constructed over 22 miles of beach and dune restoration projects for the benefit of tourists, residents and coastal property owners.

Dunes are accumulations of wind-blown sand abutting the beach. They are stabilized by salt tolerant native plants that have deeply-penetrating, extensive root systems. As the plants become buried, new roots develop on the recently buried stems while new stems emerge from the sand. Dunes help minimize erosion and protect coastal infrastructure from storm damage.

Recently you may have observed shoreline erosion. Our beaches sustained moderate additional damage to a number of previously identified “hot spot" areas of erosion through the end of 2023 as a result of repeated strong frontal storm systems and their associated onshore winds.  Despite additional erosion to these localized areas, we have observed natural recovery and sand accumulation over the past month as conditions have begun to normalize.  These limited periods of recovery are more typical to the County's winter beach season and a number of positive indicators, such as seaward accumulation of beach sand and significant nearshore sandbar formation, are good indicators that sand perceivably lost to erosion in recent months is still present in the coastal system and will continue to facilitate natural recovery.

The worst-hit dune-only County project areas have emergency construction contracts in place to facilitate restoration of engineered dune systems where natural recovery is not possible.  The Singer Island Emergency Dune Restoration is 50% complete, focusing on protecting County construction accesses and publicly accessible beach areas.  Coral Cove Emergency Dune Restoration will immediately follow completion of Singer Island and will focus on recovery of dune areas within the County Park and adjacent public access areas.  Coastal Resources Program staff are also working with local Inlet Management District, Municipal, State, and Federal partners to facilitate restoration of affected major beach nourishment projects areas where appropriate.

The County's dune restoration efforts are funded by a portion of Tourist Development Council Bed Taxes which are used as a local match for state and federal grant dollars that are contingent on providing public access to the sandy beach area. The intent of our efforts are to maintain a beach and dune system using public dollars on a regional scale where historic development has impacted the natural system's ability to respond to erosion.

​We hope and expect that recent observations of natural recovery will continue as conditions normalize and the significant amount of sand within nearshore coastal waters finds its way back onto dry beach areas.

Your input on areas of concern is very helpful. As always, please contact me if I can be of assistance at (561) 355-2201 or by email at MMarino@pbc.gov