TREASURE ISLAND, Fla. — Along Pinellas County's coastline, you have a handful of beautiful beaches to explore. But many of them are actively washing away.
In Treasure Island, the sand erosion on Sunset Beach has forced the closure of some of the beach crossovers. Sunset Beach was supposed to be renourished by the Army Corps of Engineers in 2021. The mayor of Treasure Island, Tyler Payne, said he doesn't know why, two years later, the project still hasn't happened.
"Well down here in Sunset Beach in particular, this situation is getting quite dire," Payne said as he looked out at the beach.
On Sunset Beach, jetties extend hundreds of yards out into the water. Payne said when the beach is renourished, the sand extends to those jetties.
The last renourishment took place in 2017. In that time, Sunset Beach has lost more than all of the sand that was pumped ashore.
"It's 105% of what was put here in the last nourishment has washed away," Payne said.
On Sunset Beach, sand erosion is obvious. The drop-offs are nearly 6 feet tall. With the sand washing away, the waves have eroded away the beach walkways, leaving them unsafe for use.
Now, there may be more complications in the Army Corps of Engineers beach renourishment project. According to Pinellas County Coastal Management Coordinator Dr. John Bishop, the Army Corps now wants perpetual property easements from Treasure Island homeowners living in the beachfront areas zoned for renourishment.
"We're still waiting on land requests for both," Bishop said. "But there could be some easements we have to obtain in at least Treasure Island."
The easements will give the Army Corps rights to access the homeowner's land. City and county officials said the request was unexpected and may be a tough one to fulfill.
"Everything's unknown at this point," Payne said. "Yeah, it's incredibly frustrating."
Payne said his biggest concern with the beaches in their current state: protection. Without sand, there's no buffer when a storm approaches.
Malique Rankin is a general assignment reporter with 10 Tampa Bay. You can email her story ideas at mrankin@10tampabay.com and follow her Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram pages.