By MAURICE SHACKELFORD
The writer of “Against nature” (letter, March 28) seems to be trying to force his opinion on taxpayers and our elected officials. This has happened often in the past and has cost taxpayers in Destin, in Okaloosa County and elsewhere millions of dollars.
The letter writer would have you believe that placing sand to the east of the jetties or on Destin’s Norriego Point is a waste of taxpayer money because the sand will return to the East Pass inlet.
I have thoroughly researched the direction of sand transport in Destin’s East Pass over the past four years.
The argument has been made and supported that there is no coastal downdrift material in the East Pass inlet. The materials that are maintenance-dredged originated in the Appalachian Mountains and are transported down the river systems into Choctawhatchee Bay and from there through the East Pass inlet into the Gulf of Mexico. This is Mother Nature’s handiwork.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers determined in studies in 1983 to 1992 (“A Study of Geologic and Hydraulic Processes at East Pass Inlet, Destin, Florida,” by Dr. Andrew Morang) that sand no longer enters the East Pass inlet.
A follow-up study by the Corps of Engineers in 2004 (“Guidance and Lessons Learned From Monitoring Completed Navigation Projects,” by Lyndell Hales and Donna Richey) also determined that coastal downdrift does not enter the inlet. Walton and Adams determined in 1976 that the size of the bay and fresh water added determine the direction of sand transport as well as the quantity of sand deposited in the ebb tidal delta in the Gulf.
From these studies, it can only be concluded that the downdrift beaches are receiving sand transported naturally along the beaches, plus materials that pass through the inlet daily, as well as all materials that are maintenance-dredged inside the inlet.
As long as there is a bay and river system to the north, maintenance dredging will always be required. There is no additional cost to the taxpayer. It does not make any difference where the sand is placed, east or west of the jetties or on Norriego Point — the materials enter the east-to-west or west-to-east littoral drift and do not return to the inlet.
Sand must be placed on beaches that need it most in order to keep the system balanced. It does not matter whether the beaches are private or public.
The state Department of Environmental Protection and the Corps of Engineers recognize the importance of balance. Eroded beaches are referred to as “hot spots.”
The studies mentioned in this column can be easily researched online. The names mentioned are those of well known and respected Ph.D.s who are involved in coastal inlet research as well as research into all coastal conditions throughout the United States and the world. Their work is referenced by nearly all coastal engineers.
I feel certain that U.S. Rep. Jeff Miller and other responsible leaders will carefully research available data and base their decisions on factual information.
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Maurice Shackelford has been a resident of Destin since 1966.