Beach Renourishment Project Questions and Answers

1.What is the purpose of the Beach Renourishment Project?

The purpose of the project is to restore the sandy beaches along the shoreline of Hallandale Beach, Hollywood, Dania Beach and a portion of John U. Lloyd Beach State Park. The restored beaches will provide storm wave protection for shorefront properties and recreational opportunities for residents and visitors.

2.When does it start and when will it be finished?

We anticipate that beach construction will begin in late April or early May. The Hallandale Beach-Hollywood-Dania Beach portion of the project will take four to six months to construct. The John U. Lloyd Park portion of the beach construction will begin on or about November 1 to avoid sea turtle nesting season, and will be complete by the end of February, 2006.

3.Where will the project start and end?

Beach construction will begin in Hallandale Beach and proceed north through Hollywood and Dania Beach. At John U. Lloyd Park, construction will begin roughly in the center of the Park and proceed south to the end of fill and north to the south jetty of Port Everglades.

4.How much does it cost and who is paying for it?

The overall cost of the project, inclusive of engineering, design and physical and environmental monitoring, is estimated at about $48 million. Beach and groin construction costs are estimated at $28 million, and mitigation, which is completed, cost $6 million. The federal government is authorized to pay a total of about $28.3 million, the State share is approximately $11.5 million, and the County and cities will pay the rest. Of the $8.6 million local share, the County will pay $6.4 million and the cities together will pay $2.1 million.

5. Before this project, when were beaches in Broward County last restored?

The following table illustrates the beach renourishment history in Broward County.

Year	Project	Quant. (c/y)	Length (mi.)	Total Cost ($M)	Federal Share ($M)	State Share ($M)	County Share ($M)	City Share ($M)
1970	Pompano (Seg. II)	1.08 million	2.8	1.76	.88	0.44	0.33	0.11
1971	Hallandale (Seg. III)	360,000	.75	.78	0	0.59	0.15	0.04
1976	John U. Lloyd S.P (Seg. III)	1.09 million	1.5	2.96	1.97	0.84	0.15	---
1979	Hollywood / Hallandale (Seg. III)	2.0 million	5.2	7.83	3.33	2.82	0.88	0.80
1983	Pomp\ Laud-By- The-Sea (Seg. II)	1.8 million	5.3	9.99	4.80	3.49	1.40	0.30
1989	John U. Lloyd S.P. (Seg. III)	604,000	1.6	5.68	3.97	1.71	---	---
1991	Hollywood / Hallandale (Seg. III)	1.1 million	5.2	9.47	4.17	3.88	1.07	0.35
Total		8.034 million	22.35	38.47	19.12	13.77	3.98	1.60

6. Will the beaches last?

The factors which cause the beach to erode will continue. In the absence of maintenance, the beach project would be expected to last for 10-15 years. Broward County, however, is committed to maintaining the design beach width by implementing one or more of several programs: Sand bypassing at Port Everglades; more frequent, small infusions of sand from a variety of sources; encouraging the vegetation of the beach and the creation of dunes. The goal is a sustainable beach.

7. Who is the prime contractor for the project?

The dredging contractor is Great Lakes Dredge and Dock Company of Oak Brook, IL. Great Lakes is the largest dredging firm in the United States and has the most experience nationwide in beach renourishment projects.

8. Will coral reefs and turtles be affected?

The County has taken extraordinary measures to protect coral reefs and sea turtles.

Coral Reefs: The “borrow sites” designated as sources of sand for the project are located between and in proximity to coral reefs. The County has instituted comprehensive monitoring programs designed to detect adverse impacts to corals before serious harm occurs. In addition, highly precise vessel navigation and logging systems are mandatory, stringent offshore operations procedures are required, and specific dredge steaming corridors and operations areas are laid out such that reefs will be avoided as much as possible. In the nearshore, adjacent to the beach, narrow zones of sparsely populated hardbottom (much of which became exposed by erosion of the beach) will be covered over time by the equilibration of the new beach. To compensate for the impacts to these nearshore hardbottoms, the County has constructed 10.1 acres of new nearshore hardbottom using limestone boulders, and has transplanted hundreds of hard corals from the impact zones to the mitigation substrate. Sea Turtles: Sea turtle nests along the beaches of Hallandale Beach, Hollywood, and Dania Beach are routinely relocated to protected hatcheries each year during nesting season. This practice will continue during the beach nourishment project. Additionally, a sea turtle monitor will be on duty every night, all night, whenever and wherever beach construction activities take place at night. Should a sea turtle come ashore to nest in the vicinity of construction, activities will stop until the turtle returns to the ocean. Finally, a qualified endangered species monitor will be on station on the dredge at all times to ensure that no sea turtles or marine mammals are harmed by the project. At John U. Lloyd Beach State Park, beach nourishment will be conducted outside of sea turtle nesting season.

9. What would happen if we didn’t restore the beaches?

Failure to rebuild eroded beaches would eventually result in the complete loss of many of these economically and environmentally valuable assets.

10. Will the beach be closed while they are pumping sand onto the beach?

Yes. A stretch of beach approximately 500 feet long (250 feet on either side of the discharge end of the shorepipe) will be closed to public use. Safety and flag personnel will be present 24 hours a day to guide the public around the closed area. The closed area of beach, however, will move along the beach quite rapidly as construction progresses.

11. Will there be inconveniences for the public?

There will be noise in the vicinity of the discharge pipeline as sand is pumped out and while the material is spread with bulldozers to the design beach elevation and width. The bulldozers will have back-up alarms for safety, and will operate during and after the dredge pumps out its load of sand. At night the discharge will be lighted, although permits restrict the extent of lighting because of sea turtle considerations. Also there will be front-end loader/forklifts shuttling shorepipe up and down the beach. Flagmen and safety personnel will be present at all times. Construction noise will be temporary, however, and the area of noise will move along the beach as sections of beach are completed. Our experience is that the inconveniences are minor and temporary, and that the overall construction process is interesting to the public.

12. Will fishing or pleasure boats be allowed near the dredging and pumping sites?

No. In the interest of safety, no fishing, diving, or pleasure boats will be allowed in proximity to the dredge, tugs, survey or support vessels, pipelines or other construction infrastructure.

13. Will the project affect diving activities?

Again in the interest of safety, diving and snorkeling will be prohibited in proximity to the dredge or around areas of offshore activity, including whichever “borrow site” is being dredged. It is expected that turbidity, or water cloudiness, will be elevated in the area of and somewhat down current of the dredging activities, reducing underwater visibility locally.

14. How will weather or rain affect the project?

Activities on the beach, such as spreading and grading the sand, can continue in rain or reasonably high surf, but not with lightning. Dredging activities however are limited to generally benign wave conditions.

15. Could a hurricane affect the project?

In the event of a hurricane or severe storm, the dredge and support vessels will take shelter as appropriate. A tropical system or other high wave event could cause accelerated erosion of the new beach, which would be evaluated to see if immediate repair is warranted.

16. Will the project be limited to daylight hours?

The project will proceed on a 24-hour, seven-day-a-week basis, excluding delays for weather or mechanical problems. Construction activities on the beach will be episodic, however. It is expected that discharge onto the beach will occur approximately every 4 to 6 hours, with about a three-hour period of discharge and bulldozer work each event.

17. Will shells and rocks be pumped onto the beach along with the sand?

All shells, rock, and rubble over approximately 3/4 inch will be screened out on the dredge and will not be pumped to the beach. The beach fill will be clean sand. The large shells, rocks, and rubble will be placed offshore in approved disposal areas. Small shells, however, will be part of the beach fill, and we have found that shelling is good during and after the project.

18. Will the pumping affect the water in any way?

At the beach discharge area, turbidity, or water cloudiness, will be elevated. The effects of this turbidity will be limited to the nearshore area, and will not extend far offshore.

19. How soon can the public use the restored beach?

As soon as a section of beach is completed, graded, and “groomed” (smoothed), it will be opened for use. Where shorepipe extends along the completed portions of beach, sand ramps will be constructed over the 30 inch diameter steel pipe at 250-foot intervals and at lifeguard stations.

20. Will buildings, condos and houses be affected by the project?

No. As part of the project, the contractor will employ vibration specialists to monitor vibration levels from the construction. The vibration monitors will conduct a pre-construction inventory of all shorefront structures and infrastructure, continuously monitor for vibration during construction, and, at the end of the project, conduct a post-construction inventory. It may be necessary to temporarily close particular beach accesses while construction occurs in the area.

21. Will security procedures be in place for the project?

Security procedures will be in place during project construction.

22. What is being built at John Lloyd State Park to lock in the sand?

At the northern end of John U. Lloyd Beach State Park, the County will construct three boulder mound erosion control structures: A spur coming off the south jetty of Port Everglades and two T-head rock groins. These structures will serve to stabilize the beach at that very dynamic location without adverse down drift impacts. These structures will be constructed concurrently with the Hallandale Beach-Hollywood-Dania Beach nourishment effort.

23. Will beaches be restored in other parts of Broward County?

The next phase of the renourishment project will be Segment II of the County, including portions of Fort Lauderdale, Lauderdale-By-The-Sea, and Pompano Beach. However, regulatory agencies have mandated that construction of Segment II be postponed. Subsequent to completion of the current nourishment effort (Segment III), the project will be monitored for a minimum of 18 months to ascertain whether the environmental permit conditions were adequate to protect the reefs and other resources. At the conclusion of the monitoring period, the County will present the findings to the State of Florida Department of Environmental Protection, who will in turn make a recommendation to the Governor and Cabinet as to the advisability of proceeding with Segment II.

24. Will the project affect July 4 th activities or other events along the beach?

Every effort will be made to coordinate construction activities with planned events on the beach and offshore. However, halting the project in favor of a particular event is not a viable option due to the high cost of idling the dredging equipment.