Dunes helped minimize damage from Debby, but long-term concerns remain along Pinellas beaches: Officials

MADEIRA BEACH, Fla. - Sunbathers were back on the beach, toes in the sand in Pinellas County on Tuesday. Local leaders credit dunes for preventing Tropical Storm Debby from doing more damage.

"We probably would have had more water and possibly sand, a lot of sand dumped into our parking lot and possibly out onto Gulf Boulevard," Madeira Beach City Manager Robin Gomez said.

That’s what happened during Hurricane Idalia last year. Madeira Beach officials said the emergency dune restoration project after Idalia did its job.

"The water was all the way up to the dunes, but it didn't appear it was going to go over them or through them. So, we were relieved when that didn't happen," Gomez said.

Gomez said there’s a little bit of erosion, but not nearly as much as after Idalia.

"We'll continue to monitor, to make sure that they stay healthy, vibrant and hopefully they don't get washed away, but we know that a big storm could erode them significantly, and we hope that doesn’t happen for a very, very long time," he said.

READ: Gov. DeSantis tours Steinhatchee after Hurricane Debby makes landfall as a Category 1 hurricane

It’s a similar story in Treasure Island at Sunset Beach.

"The dunes did take a beating, but not as bad as previous storms, and the best part about this is that the emergency dune restoration that the county did last year, that helped protect a lot of those homes and protect that neighborhood from flooding," Treasure Island Spokesperson Jason Beisel said.

The dunes, local leaders said, can only take so much. Beisel said the beaches need a more permanent solution.

"As more storms come and as they become more frequent, these dunes are just going to take so much, and you can't just keep putting money into restoring dunes and dunes. We actually need that beach renourishment to help protect that beach and help protect that neighborhood," Beisel said.

The Army Corps of Engineers has a plan for renourishment, but it’s on hold. The Army Corps said it needed 100% of the easements for the project, meaning all property owners along the stretch of the project have to sign over access to their land, and that hasn’t happened yet.

Pinellas County officials said talks continue with the Army Corps, but as a backup, there’s money in the county’s proposed fiscal year 2025 budget for beach nourishment. The county said it is "still hoping for some movement with the Corps."

READ: Debby aftermath: Experts share basics on flood insurance, finding the right mitigation companies

Crews in Pinellas County were out assessing damage Tuesday from Debby, including checking on dunes they just built less than a year ago. 

The county invested millions in the emergency dune restoration project after Hurricane Idalia destroyed most of the dunes across the county’s beaches.

County officials said they’re anticipating having to reshape dunes at some of the mid-county beaches where they built the dunes after Idalia. They’ll know more, however, when they go out and inspect and measure the dunes, officials said.

Initial assessments show minimal damage to the beach renourishment project underway in Pass-a-Grille, Pinellas officials said. Those assessments, however, were before the high waves Monday. They said they’ll know more in the coming days.

The contractor’s equipment did well during the storm. Crews won’t be able to resume work, though, until the strong onshore winds subside, probably later this week, the county said.

The project will wrap up in November, and businesses and part of the beach are still open in Pass-a-Grille during the work.

SIGN UP: Click here to sign up for the FOX 13 daily newsletter

WATCH FOX 13 NEWS