TIERRA VERDE, Fla. — Pinellas County is getting ready to undergo a long-awaited beach nourishment process. On May 13, the county will start a dredging project in the Tierra Verde channel with the sand from that area going to Pass-a-Grille Beach.
For years people in the Tierra Verde community have asked the county to address the community's concerns with traveling through the channel and now, Pinellas County Coastal Management Coordinator Dr. John Bishop said the county is responding.
“We will be dredging the sand from the canal and pumping it up over the jetty and onto the beach,” Dr. Bishop said.
Dr. Bishop said this has been a huge concern for neighbors for the past decade. He said this would've been done last year, but the Army Corps of Engineers delayed the project due to an issue getting easements along Upham beach.
So, the county is stepping in.
“The sand is growing into the Grand Canal and we hope by dredging it we'll be able to hold that back a bit and allow access to Grand Canal,” Dr. Bishop said.
The Grand Canal is the only channel boaters in Tierra Verde have to get in and out of the area.
“You have two different marinas on one small island, and both are almost at capacity I would say,” Jordan Rehs said.
Rehs is the general manager at the Island Grille & Raw Bar.
“We have docks here that we utilize especially on the weekends,” Rehs said.
He believes this project will help people who live in the area, as well as businesses.
“We've had larger boats call us on the phone before and explain... asking us to give our opinion on whether they can get through or not. I don't like to give that opinion because if the boats are large enough, they can run aground out there very easily,” Rehs said.
The county said this project will put the entire boating community's minds at ease and it won't hurt local businesses either.
“Pass-a-Grille is still open for business. We should have about half the beach open at any one time,” Dr. Bishop said.
Bishop said this will be a small nourishment project, but it will help make the beach taller and wider which will help create a buffer between the dunes and the shorelines.
The county hopes to start a larger beach nourishment project this summer. They expect both projects to be finished by the end of summer.