Upham Beach : photo Surfrider Suncoast Chapter
Environment News
Surfrider Suncoast Chapter seeks to save Upham Beach
Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 21 May, 2008 : - - Saint Petersburg, Fla -- After a year of negotiations with the County Coastal Coordinator, the Suncoast Chapter of Surfrider Foundation decided to reach out publicly.
On Friday, May 9th, the chapter published the Free Upham Beach Petition on the Care 2 Petition website.Click here to view In so doing, the Suncoast Chapter has achieved a major milestone in the National mission to preserving the diversity and ecological integrity of Florida’s coastal environment and healthier waters – leading their first local campaign.
The Suncoast Chapter will soon be seen patrolling neighbors in Pinellas County armed with pictures, copies of DEP records, and a position paper where 43 PhD’s from Western Carolina University have published a statement against the use of erosion control structures. Education is a core mission of the Surfrider Foundation. Thus, the Suncoast Chapter plans to rally support for their campaign by educating the public – one person at a time.
The United States Army Corps of Engineers’ Coastal Engineering Manual describes groins as: "…probably the most misused and improperly designed of all coastal structures…(USACE, 2002)”. Click here to view report
“I worked with USGS and USF St.Pete campus on the original erosions studies for Upham Beach placing a beach camera on the condo at the jetty to monitor the conditions overtime. The conclusions then were that nothing would correct the problem of erosion caused by man’s building and maintaining the pass/jetty. This is a known situation not only at Upham but at all beaches where we continue to alter natural processes”, Randy Johnson commented on the petition.
Supporters are logging countless volunteer hours on this campaign – and they have only just begun. Over 400 electronic signatures have already been collected toward the chapter goal of 1,000 in under a month. The Suncoast Chapter wants the (five) 5 Geotextile tube experimental project removed off of Upham Beach – with promise of no future permanent structure.
About the beach
Blind Pass, named in the late eighteen hundreds, was a natural migrating pass until 1936 when the first channel dredge and rock jetty project completed. By 1978, three of four condominiums stood on the northern section of Long Key, literally on the edge of the Gulf of Mexico. Each building came with its own seawall to hold the Gulf waters back.
Decades later, concerned residents pushed city, county, state and federal officials to do something about the severe erosion problem on this section of St. Pete Beach. As a solution, forty-four geotextile sand bags form pyramids that make up the five t groin jetties that extend westward from the beach.
The “T” crosses at the water line. Construction of the bags consisted of filling them with sand provided by the federally funded nourishment project (regularly scheduled every four to five years). Work began immediately after the 2004 re-nourishment on Upham beach.
Contrary to project promises, the sand eroded away after being completely covered a t the end of the installation process in 2005 and again in 2006. Today t head groins #1, 2, and 3 stands visibly and dangerously exposed. Painted in large black lettering the label “Keep off!” rests on the exposed groins. Yet photographs exist of adults and children standing, playing or wading in the water all around the yellow mounds.
The installation, maintenance and repairs have cost taxpayers in excess of 1.5 million dollars in just four years. In a document titled Implementation of Geotextile T-Groin in Pinellas County, Florida by Nicole A. Elko, Ph.D. and Douglas W. Mann, P.E., published in spring 2007, there is mention of replacing the temporary groins with permanent structures in the future.
Statewide, taxpayers will continue to pay for this project for years to come. In spring of 2008, Suncoast Chapter Surfrider Foundation began a petition drive to remove these t groins. Expect to see petitions among neighborhoods, on the beach, and in your local businesses since this project affects all taxpayers – including tourists.
Members of this local grassroots organization do enjoy Upham Beach. And some have a long relationship with this special stretch of the island. The public outcry - they are taxpayers and they are against paying for this experimental project.
About the Surfrider Foundation
The Surfrider Foundation is a non-profit grassroots organization dedicated to the protection and enjoyment of our world’s oceans, waves and beaches. Founded in 1984 by a handful of visionary surfers in Malibu, California, the Surfrider Foundation now maintains over 50,000 members and 80 chapters worldwide.
www.surfrider.org
www.myspace.com/suncoastsurfrider
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Julie Pappas / Jessica Emery
Environment - Surfersvillage
