Why Your Community Needs Beach Renourishment

The popular solution keeps beaches healthy while providing flood protection

Keeping beaches intact offers more to nearby communities than an enjoyable destination or aesthetic facelift. Beach renourishment can also provide flood protection.

Credit: Getty Images / Joe Raedle

The Takeaway

Beach renourishment can come with a high price tag. But increased flood protection and benefits like maintaining a popular destination make it a flood solution all coastal communities should explore.

How it works: Adding large amounts of sand or sediment to restore existing beaches combats erosion and weakens waves.
Why you need it: Strengthening beaches reduces coastal flooding from both storm surge and high tides.
Why your county needs it: As opposed to hard-armoring solutions like seawalls, this flood solution simply restores the beaches that have always been there. It can also positively impact the habitat of some plant and animal species.
What experts say: “Beach renourishment projects play a critical role in the maintenance of Florida’s beaches,” David Ruderman, public affairs specialist with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, told the Bradenton Herald. “It is building beach resiliency so that the entire length of the beach will be better protected against future storm damage.”

Take action: Elected officials need to hear from their constituents to pursue a project like beach renourishment. It doesn’t take many people attending county meetings to let them know your community needs this flood project.

Yes, but: Renourishment projects, especially on a large scale, can be pricey. But lower environmental impacts than other shoreline protection methods and preserving a coveted local and tourist destination make this an appealing flood solution.

We are Flood Defenders

A non-profit amplifying the power of our members' voices to demand and receive better flood protection

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