ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. -- ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Jacksonville District, has begun pumping eroded sections of St. Augustine Beach north, south and underneath the St. Johns County Ocean Pier, Saturday, Aug. 10-11, 2024 to replace eroded sand when Hurricane Debby passed through Florida.
The repumping and replacement of the lost beach fill is vital to the protection of upland infrastructure and provides critical nesting areas for sea turtles and shorebirds in addition to recreation space for residents and tourists.
“Refilling the beach template near the pier will provide additional buffer between the upland infrastructure and the ocean to help dissipate wave energy and provide the intended coastal storm risk management benefits until the next planned renourishment,” said Jason Harrah, Senior Project Manager. “The design intent of placing an extra-wide beach near the pier is for waves and currents to quickly reshape the fill by transporting sand from the dry recreational beach and depositing it below the waterline and to the adjacent beaches north and south of the project.”
The adjustment of the beach to a more natural “equilibrated” shape may appear to dramatically decrease the beach width, but the project is operating as designed. The equilibration process will begin immediately after placement, with full adjustment typically requiring many months or multiple significant wave events. Once the beach has reached an equilibrium condition, it is expected to recede at a slower rate and expose the pier to wave action.
Based on current schedule, the work will conclude near “A” Street late Friday August 9th, at which time equipment vehicles will depart to refuel and begin re-pumping the eroded area near the pier late Saturday or early Sunday August 11th. The work is expected to take three to five days before the contractor moves north into Anastasia State Park on August 16th or sooner.
This additional work will be completed solely using federal emergency funds.
Release no. 24-053