NEW SMYRNA BEACH, Fla. – Rough surf this week carved what appear to be small cliffs into the sand along parts of Volusia County’s coastline — prompting questions about whether millions of dollars spent on beach renourishment projects are paying off.
Much of the erosion is visible in areas where the county has recently completed or is still working on sand renourishment efforts. Locals are skeptical, but county officials say there is no cause for concern.
Patrick Eichstaedt, a New Smyrna Beach local who watched the county’s dredging and pumping work this year, said the erosion this week is hard to ignore.
“Why are we doing this over, and over, and over again? They call it this ‘beach preservation’ — I think that’s a term they use to make it look so pretty and neat when really, let’s call it, ‘We don’t have anywhere else to put the sand,’” Eichstaedt said.
Eichstaedt also questioned whether installing revetments along the coast might offer a better long-term solution than repeated sand pumping.
Volusia County Coastal Director Jessica Fentress said her team drove the beach and assessed the conditions, and she is not concerned by what they found.
“It did exactly what we thought it was going to do. We are artificially putting sand on the beach and mother nature is going to come along and help us redistribute that sand,” Fentress said.
Fentress added that sand swept out to sea will return once surf calms and winds push it back toward shore. She argues renourishment remains the best available solution.
“We’re not paving our beaches with concrete that’s supposed to stay there and not move. Every time you put sand on the beach you need to expect that sand to move,” Fentress said.
The county’s current sand renourishment project stretches the length of New Smyrna Beach and just to the south. It remains a work in progress and is expected to be completed by May 15.
Beachgoers heading out this weekend should use caution. The county’s Beach Safety team says sand swept offshore has created holes in sandbars, generating strong rip currents along the coast.