Reach 1

Program DetailsReach 1- Coastal Map.jpg

Lake Worth Inlet to Onondaga Avenue

FDEP Range Monument R-76 to R-78 (2,410 feet)

FDEP Designation: Critically Eroded

Current Action

  • Continue Inlet Maintenance Dredging; to include settling basin, harbor channel, and turning basins.  Placement of all beach-compatible sand will be placed on the dry beach and within the permitted beach profile.
  • Town continues to work with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on the various Federally-participated inlet maintenance dredging activities.
  • Ensure operation and maintenance the Sand Transfer Plant.

2018 Townwide Physical Monitoring Report, dated January 2019

Reach 1: (R-76 to R-78)

Reach 1 exhibited a net shoreline decrease of 74.8 feet during this monitoring period. Volumetric losses were at 131,781 cubic yards (CY), with 97 percent of the loss occurring seaward of the mean high water (MHW) line.

Overall, this reach has exhibited a long-term substantial net shoreline advance of 103.6 feet and volumetric gain (to the Depth of Closure) of 573,619 CY since 1990. This long-term advance in shoreline and volume is associated with discharge by the Sand Transfer Plant within this reach and direct placement of material from inlet maintenance operations.

The net result of Hurricane Sandy and post storm beach recovery and placement has been a minor advance in shoreline position of 0.6 feet and a net gain in volume of 118,569 cubic yards. The monitoring data suggests that Reach 1 has lost a significant volume of material to the south into Reach 2 though this trend is not evident within the Reach 2 upper beach performance.

FDEP Strategic Beach Management Plan, May 2018

Strategy: Bypass an average annual volume of 202,000 cubic yards of sand to the downdrift beaches through a combination of the operation of the sand transfer plant and beach placement of maintenance dredge material from the federally authorized navigation channel; place all beach compatible material dredged during channel maintenance on downdrift beaches in Reach 1, in an extended beach placement in Reach 2, and when feasible, at Mid-Town and Phipps Ocean Park projects; dredging placement should be limited to dry beach; extension of the discharge pipeline to discharge points located at the south jetty, and approximately 3,600 ft. south of the south jetty; comply with the Palm Beach Island Beach Management Agreement (BMA), 2013; monitor; update the sediment budget and the inlet management plan.

Comprehensive Coastal Management Plan, 1998 Update

Reach 1 has been subjected to direct sand placement in recent years as a result of dredged sand disposal from the maintenance of Lake Worth Inlet. With the continued Sand Transfer Plant discharge of sand onto the north end of Palm Beach Island and placement of beach-quality maintenance dredge sand by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, two principal Lake Worth Inlet Management Plan objectives of sand bypassing across the Inlet and maintenance of the navigation channel are partially satisfied.