Beach group rails against erosion controls
May 21st, 2008 by Alex Pickett in Activist News, Urban Explorations
After returning to Florida two years ago, one of my first “urban explorations” was driving on down to Upham Beach and taking a swim. Nearly every summer day growing up, my grandmother, who worked on St. Pete Beach, used to bring my brother and I there for some fun in the sun.
But on this day, as I walked onto the sand, I swore some jaundiced whale had beached itself on the shore. On closer inspection, I discovered the huge, yellow mounds were sand-filled fabric tubes used for erosion control.
Over the last several years, Pinellas County officials noticed that erosion is particularly bad on this part of Long Key. For years, they’ve paid to bring in tons of sand to nourish the beach area, to little avail. The installation of these tubes was a last ditch effort to stop the erosion.
Well, not everyone likes the water barriers. One group even has a petition calling for their removal.
On May 9, the Surfrider Foundation, a non-profit organization “dedicated to the protection and enjoyment of our world’s oceans, waves and beaches,” published the “Free Upham Beach Petition.” They claim these tubes are detrimental to the environment and seem to have amassed research backing their claims, including an United States Army Corps of Engineers’ Coastal Engineering Manual and several professors from Western Carolina University.
They want all five tubes off the beach — along with a promise of no additional tubes in the future.
This is the Surfrider Foundation’s first local campaign.
So what do you think? Should the jaundiced whale-looking tubes stay, as Pinellas County officials want. Or do you agree with the Surfrider Foundation’s call to action?
(Photo courtesy of Surfrider.org)
May 25th, 2008 at 10:42 am
I feel they should be removed as well as abandoning the idea for a larger rock jetty being put there in place of the Geo-tubes. There are other solutions to this problem that would be less costly, safer for beach-goers and give the beach a natural look. This experiment, if not stopped may spread to more beaches throughout the state, ruining even more of our condo covered coastline. Please help stop this invasion of our beaches and sign the petition to have the tubes removed. http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/free-upham-beach
May 25th, 2008 at 5:59 pm
I feel it is ridiculous that my tax money is being spent to “protect” a few condos that were built is a terrible spot to begin with . And if I were a waterfront homeowner that ever had to spend my own dollars on seawall repairs while those choice condos get over a million dollars spent for them I’d be especially upset .
May 25th, 2008 at 10:10 pm
If one looks back in history you find that the condos being protected by these groins were built on a sandspit that was anomalously large for those few years. The area had not had that large of an amount of accumulated sediment for more than 50 years before, nor has it since. Basically they were built on an ephemeral structure that we have been fighting to make permanent ever since. Its an unfortunate incident and the time has come to realize our mistake and move on. Allow nature to take its course and enforce a sensible beach development policy - starting with a moratorium on building within a quarter mile of the shore. No more tax dollars for beach armament!