Volusia County presents long-term beach management plan; consultants rank beach nourishment top option

Volusia County coastal staff and consultants on Monday presented a draft long-term beach management plan that recommends countywide beach and dune restoration, identifies near-term sand-placement projects and outlines state and federal funding pathways.

Jessica Fentress, Volusia County coastal director, told the audience the county "is 1 of 2 counties on the East Coast of Florida that does not have a beach management plan," and described recent emergency and planned sand work. She said the county lost roughly 6,000,000 cubic yards of sand during the 2022 storms and that current short-term projects replace only a portion of that loss.

The presentation summarized three near-term efforts: a stockpile and truck-haul program behind Ponce Inlet (about 750,000 cubic yards), a south-New Smyrna placement project dredging roughly 550,000 cubic yards from Rattlesnake Island, and a larger "Shoals to Shore" initiative supported by about $82,000,000 in Florida Department of Environmental Protection grant funding. "That was in response to the calls for assistance from our elected leadership," Fentress said of the DEP funding.

Consultants from Taylor Engineering outlined a parcel-by-parcel risk assessment used to rank communities by coastal vulnerability. Chris (Taylor Engineering, coastal analyst) said the index combined three heavily weighted parameters—shoreline encroachment (horizontal buffer), infrastructure elevation relative to a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers statistical water level (vertical exposure), and historical shoreline change rates (2016–2024)—plus secondary factors such as armoring and modeling results. The highest community risk ranks in the draft were Daytona Beach, Daytona Beach Shores and Wilbur By The Sea.

The consultant team reviewed ten shoreline-management alternatives—ranging from no action and structural relocation to seawalls, revetments, groin fields, beach nourishment, nearshore placement, breakwaters and artificial reefs. Wendy, a county beach expert, summarized the tradeoffs: nourishment increases recreational area and habitat and restores sand to the active profile but requires periodic renourishment (commonly 5–8 year intervals) and construction monitoring for sea turtles and shorebirds; structural options such as seawalls can protect upland infrastructure but can also exacerbate adjacent erosion if exposed to frequent wave action.

Using weighted objectives (damage reduction, habitat protection, life safety, recreation and permitability), the multi-criteria analysis ranked beach nourishment highest (1.85 out of 2.0), followed by structural relocation (1.50) and nearshore sand placement (1.45). The consultants recommended that most Volusia communities pursue beach and dune restoration designs tailored to local conditions and urged that the county "get out of this sand-starved system," language used repeatedly during the presentation.

Presenters described permitting and funding timelines: state-funded projects require a county beach-management plan to be eligible for DEP cost-share; the Army Corps federal route requires congressional authorization and a funded feasibility study, which can take multiple years after a project is authorized in law. Fentress said some grant-funded work announced after the 2022 storms is already underway and that the county is pursuing additional offshore sand-source investigations expected to take roughly two years.

The presentation closed with outreach and next steps. The county opened a public survey (open through January) and invited stakeholder roadshows. Staff listed possible local funding mechanisms—beach-user fees, tourist development tax, local sales tax, special service districts—and described federal and state cost-share ratios. An economic-impact analysis cited by presenters estimated beach-related tourism contributes roughly $4.3 billion annually to Volusia County and supports about 31,400 jobs.

During an extended Q&A, residents pressed on seawall failures, inconsistent berm construction, groins and surfing impacts, and temporary versus permanent easements. Consultants and staff repeatedly emphasized the consultants’ view that "patchwork" private measures produce worse outcomes than coordinated, community-scale nourishment and dune-restoration projects. Fentress urged community input and said the county would use the survey results and follow-up meetings to refine final recommendations.

What happens next: the county will collect public input through January, complete the draft plan and pursue design, permitting and funding. County staff said some grant-funded projects will proceed immediately; larger federal-enabled projects would follow the Army Corps’ authorization and study process, which can take multiple years.