Berm Repair Update

The summer of 2024 brought three tropical storm and hurricane events to Southwest Florida in a period of six weeks. Hurricanes Debby, Helene, and Milton created conditions allowing significant wave actions from the Gulf of Mexico into Tigertail Lagoon. These storms have created severe erosions, over washes and breaches over Sand Dollar Island into the lagoon. The last emergency repair on Sand Dollar Island was in August 29, 2023, due to damages by Tropical Storm Idalia. In October 2024, prior to the start of the repairs, Mohammed Dabees, Senior Engineer of the Project, from Humiston and Moore, had the following comment, “The berm provides 80%sheltering for Hideaway and 20% for the County section of Tigertail Beach Lagoon. Without the berm, all those waves breaking on the sandbar would otherwise break on Hideaway’s shoreline. ”On November 4, 2024, City of Marco Island approved Earth Tech Enterprise for the Tigertail Lagoon/Sand Dollar Island Ecosystem Restoration Project for Hurricanes Debby, Helene, and Milton’s Impact Repair and Maintenance for 2024. It had a start date of November 15, 2024, and they aim to avoid the bird and sea turtle nesting season and do whatever they can get done in a 30-day work period between now and February 15th.The mobilization for the “2024 Repair and Maintenance Project” by Earth Tech Enterprises included the use of four pieces of equipment with operators working a 10-hour day to finish there pairs within a 105-day window. These include two excavators, one bulldozer, and one dump truck for hauling. According to the attached Quote Schedule, the budget of $248,255 seems to determine the scope of the work to be accomplished. During the weekdays through Saturday, walkers are not allowed into the restoration areas. But there are no workers on Sunday, and if you proceed northward to the area of the southern breach you will encounter piles of sand and dead trees removed. Still visible are the mangrove fringes that are heavily impacted by sand intrusion. The contract calls for the removal of some of the sand deep into the mangroves with the use of controlled hydraulic flow based on daily use of pumping water through afire hose or something similar.