Idea of sand-saving devices for Upham Beach deflates
Many in St. Pete Beach are disappointed when talk of "groins" ends and talk of when to bring in the next load of sand begins.
By AMY WIMMER
Published August 24, 2003
ST. PETE BEACH - The apparatus that was supposed to keep the sand at Upham Beach would have been more eyesore than savior.
That was the word from local and federal officials this week, who decided to end talk about installing fabric "groins" along the shore at Upham.
The sand-stuffed, T-shaped tubes might have kept sand from shifting downstream from perpetually malnourished Upham Beach, the worst-eroding beach on Florida's west coast. Part of the concern about the groins, however, is they might have starved nearby Pass-a-Grille, a natural beach that does not require regular renourishment.
Federal and county officials have been warning St. Pete Beach for months that the groins might not be cost-effective, might cause problems at Pass-a-Grille and - a big consideration for a public beach such as Upham - might be unsightly.
"These things look like beached whales," Nicole Elko, Pinellas County's coastal coordinator, told city commissioners Tuesday. "There is an opportunity for algae growth."
For now, the plan at Upham is much the same as it has been for the past several years: The federal government, with financial help from the county and state, will renourish the quickly eroding beach every three to five years.
Upham's most recent renourishment was in 2000, and a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers representative said Friday that he plans to return crews to Upham around April or May 2004. Rick McMillen, corps project manager for Upham, said he wants to avoid renourishing the beach during tourist season.
The City Commission had known the government's stance for months but was reluctant to let go of the plan for Upham Beach. On Tuesday, presented with evidence that the groins might affect sand movement to Pass-a-Grille and complicate future renourishments at Upham, commissioners accepted Elko's advice and agreed to end their pursuit.
"We're obviously a little bit disappointed because we were hoping to come up with a long-term solution," Mayor Ward Friszolowski said.
He wasn't as disappointed as Hugh McGuigan, president of Starlite Tower, a condominium perilously close to the shoreline at Upham Beach. McGuigan was part of a group that traveled to Tallahassee last year to lobby for a more permanent solution at Upham Beach.
McGuigan criticized the commission for giving credence to the argument that the groins are ugly.
"Let me tell you what is ugly," McGuigan said. "Ugly is having 7-foot waves break against your front door."
The groins, which are made of fabric that fills with sand, have been successful in some other areas of Florida, though they are not used at any busy public beaches.
Behind a row of condominiums in Longboat Key in Sarasota County, for example, the town installed two of the groins. The town asked the manufacturer to match the groins to the off-white sand of Longboat Key, and the two groins - one 100 feet long, one 170 feet long - resemble gym socks.
The groins also have algae and muck flourishing on the sides, making the "socks" look mildewed.
Still, in Longboat Key, the two groins - plus two others elsewhere on the beach that are hidden from view by the sand and surf - have been effective, and town officials receive few complaints about their aesthetic. "Unless you really know what you're looking at, it looks like white sand with rocks at the end," said Juan Florensa, public works director in Longboat Key.
The people who use the beach, however, are mostly condo residents who rely on the groins to maintain the sand that protects their homes.
Rather than the single tube in Longboat Key, the fierce wave action at Upham would have required five pyramid-shaped stacks of six tubes each.
At Upham, engineers who studied the erosion patterns called for five T-shaped groins.
After a considerable amount of renourishment sand drifted out of Upham, the groins would have been exposed. Walking along the beach shoreline would have been impossible. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers objected.
"It's a public beach," McMillen said. "There's going to be a lot of people climbing over and around these things. There is a safety issue for recreation."
