Initial assessments show Pinellas County dunes fared well from Debby, still show vulnerability

PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. - Post-Debby conditions have made it hard for crews in Pinellas County to get an accurate assessment of the damage the storm did to beaches there, officials say.

READ: Rescued seabirds find sanctuary after being injured during Debby

Initial assessments show overall, dunes across the county’s beaches, which aren't even a year old, held up fairly well, a county spokesperson said. They’re part of the county’s dune restoration project after Hurricane Idalia wiped out a lot of the dunes in Pinellas.

During Debby, Sunset Beach’s dunes on Treasure Island were hit the hardest, the county said. Even though the damage could’ve been much worse and the dunes did their job of providing storm protection, the county said we are still ‘very vulnerable right now.’

County staff, along with representatives from the Army Corps of Engineers and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, will survey Debby’s damage along Pinellas’ beaches on Thursday or Friday depending on tidal conditions. 

The county said this is normal before and after a big storm, but said it may take weeks to fully assess the impacts. This is because sand displaced offshore by the storm may come back onto the beach as it did in several areas after Hurricane Idalia.

A staff member from the county’s coastal management team also met with representatives from the Army Corps on Wednesday. 

The Army Corps paused the beach nourishment efforts in Sunset Beach and Long Key last year, saying it needs all property owners along the stretch of the project to sign over access to their land. They said that hasn’t happened yet.

County crews are also evaluating Debby’s impacts on nesting sea turtles and shorebirds. This reiterates the need for a full beach nourishment project, the county said. 

The nourishment projects are designed to give storm damage reduction benefits, critical environmental habitats and recreational opportunities, a county spokesperson said. 

While Sunset Beach’s dunes took a beating, it wasn’t as bad as previous storms, Treasure Island’s spokesperson Jason Beisel said. He fears, though, that it’s only a matter of time before a storm wipes them out again. He said they need a more permanent solution.

"We're just hoping something gets done because these dunes can only take so much, and we're still in the middle, we're actually at the peak of hurricane season," Beisel said. "So, as more and 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. We actually need that beach renourishment to help protect that beach and help protect that neighborhood."

In Pass-a-Grille, the county said it looks like some of the sand lost from Debby may have drifted and filled areas to the north, but crews will do a survey to get an accurate assessment there. 

The beach nourishment project in Pass-a-Grille has been paused because of the strong winds and waves that stuck around post-Debby. They hope to resume work this weekend.  

Pinellas County officials said they’re hopeful for some movement from the Army Corps on the beach renourishment project in Sunset Beach and Long Key, but as a backup, there’s money in the county’s proposed budget next year for beach nourishment in case they have to do some or all of the projects.