Offshore Drilling Opponents Join Hands and Take Stand on Upham Beach

At Noon today, August 4, 2012, opponents of offshore oil drilling gathered on Upham Beach to participate in this year's nationwide Hands Across the Sand event.   Organized locally by the Suncoast Chapter of the Surfrider Foundation, over 100 people joined hands and stood in protest against offshore oil drilling at the same precise moment as others did the same on hundreds of other beaches across the world.

Many of those who participated arrived at Upham Beach specifically for the event, while others who were enjoying the beach or watching the nearby volleyball tournament heard the organizers' announcement about the event and joined in on the spur of the moment.  The spirit was lighthearted and everyone had a good time.

St. Pete Beach District 3 commissioner Marvin Shavlan arrived just after the event ended.  He then endured some serious grief from yours truly for being late  :)

It's been a while now since the Deepwater Horizon disaster, and attendance at this year's event was markedly diminished from the first Hands Across the Sand event, but it was nice to see folks still coming out and expressing their feelings about this important issue.  Kudos to the Surfrider Foundation for helping to keep this event alive!

Let's Join Hands Across the Sand at Upham Beach on August 4, 2012 against Offshore Oil Drilling!

At Noon on Saturday, August 4, 2012, hundreds of people will gather on Upham Beach in St. Pete Beach to join hands in opposition to offshore oil drilling at this year's Hands Across the Sand event.

Come to beautiful Upham Beach to join hands with those who want to keep our beaches pristine and beautiful.

Metered parking is available at:

6850 Beach Plz

St. Pete Beach, FL 33706

near the Paradise Grille.

Repairing Pinellas Beaches May Cost $20 Million

The Tampa Bay Times has just reported that the initial estimates by Pinellas County indicate that Repairing Pinellas Beaches may cost $20 million.  Please follow the link for more details, but here are a few of the bits I found to be interesting:

• The story includes a wonderful quote from Pinellas County Commissioner John Morroni stating how important beach renourishment is to supporting and sustaining Pinellas County's tourism industry.
• USF geologists are currently preparing a detailed assessment of the volume of sand the was lost during Tropical Storm Debby.
• Pass-a-Grille is now a high priority location for beach renourishment due to the severe erosion its beaches suffered during Tropical Storm Debby.

The residents of St. Pete Beach and Pinellas County's other beach communities are very fortunate that John Morroni, Neil Brickfield and the other members of the Pinellas County Commission understand the importance of beach renourichment and that they vigorously pursue the funding necessary for full restoration of our beaches.  

We are also fortunate that folks like Pinellas Coastal Manager Andy Squires and the geologists at USF do such a great job measuring, documenting and assessing the condition of our beaches!

Upham Beach Shines on July 4, 2012 Despite Damage from Storms and Vandalism

Residents and tourists alike flocked to the beautiful, big, wide sandy beaches of St. Pete Beach this week to enjoy the Fourth of July holiday.  It was wonderful to see so many people swimming and playing on a beach that only a few days before had been pounded by the surging waves of Tropical Storm Debby.

It's a joyful ritual of mine to photograph Upham Beach on the Fourth of July each year.   Aside from the obvious happiness of seeing so many people on our beach, it's also a great way to demonstrate the effectiveness of Pinellas County's Upham Beach Stabilization Project at preserving and protecting our beach against erosion.

In 2005, Pinellas County commenced the project by installing five temporary "T-Groin" erosion control structures on Upham Beach.  These structures are made from durable geotextile material filled with sand, and are designed to hold sand on the beach that would otherwise drift southwards due to normal tidal forces and, of course, the strong erosional force of storms.

Only a few days earlier, Tropical Storm Debby was doing her best to wash away the sands of Upham Beach.  Thankfully, the T-Groins keep a remarkable amount of sand on the beach given the intensity of the storm surge:

 By comparison, this is what Upham Beach looks like without T-Groins several years after a beach renourishment:

The T-Groins also did a great job on the northernmost end of Upham Beach.  Here's what T-1 looked like just before Debby hit:

Upham Beach Geotube T1 before Tropical Storm Debby

Here is Debby in action:

Upham Beach Geotube T1 during Tropical Storm Debby - June 24, 2012

And here is North Upham Beach at T-1 on July 4, 2012, after Debby:

Upham T-Groin #1 after Tropical Storm Debby (July 4, 2012)

While the super-tough geotextile material used to make the Upham Beach T-Groins is durable, it is not entirely impervious to the combined threats of storm surge and vandalism, so periodic inspections of the geotubes are necessary to insure they are properly maintained.  On July 2, 2012, I tagged along with Pinellas County's Coastal Manager Andrew Squires and Thomas Pierro from Coastal Planning & Engineering, Inc. (Pinellas County's engineering contractor for the Project) during their inspection of the Upham Beach geotubes.

Overall, Pierro and Squires were both very pleased with the condition of the beach and the T-Groins.  Pierro noted that the profile of the beach between the northernmost T-Groin (T1) and T2 showed that, given the severity of the storm surge created by Debby, a substantial amount of sand was remaining on the beach that otherwise would have been lost.  He observed the same between T2 -T3 and T3-T4.  He also observed that in the space between T2 - T3 and between T3 -T4 there was evidence that some sand was returning to the shoreline that had been washed away, a pattern of "restoration" that is being aided by the presence of the Geotubes.  

It was clear to Pierro and Squires that while Debby's storm surge had caused a loss of sand on the beach, a substantially larger amount of sand would have been lost if the T-Groins had not been in place.  Squires confirmed that Pinellas County officials are actively pursuing funding for a beach renourishment that would restore sand that was lost during the recent storm. 

Thomas Pierro and Andrew Squires inspect damage to Upham Beach Geotube T1 (July 2, 2012)

Unfortunately, Pierro and Squires also observed damage to the T-Groins, some of which was caused by the force of the storms and some of which was clearly caused by human malice.  In several instances some seams had come loose due to the force of the storm surge.  In other instances, the geotubes had sustained punctures and slashes that Pierro concluded could only have been caused by vandalism.  

Here are some photos of the damage that they observed:

Tom Pierro and Andrew Squires inspect damage to Upham Beach Geotube T2 (July 2, 2012)

Tom Pierro inspects vandalism damage to Upham Beach Geotube T4 (July 2, 2012)

In addition to the efforts of Pinellas County officials to preserve Upham Beach, it was great to see that on June 30th, mere days after Tropical Storm Debby subsided, hundreds of volunteers came to St. Pete Beach as part of a joint effort between the city and the Florida Aquarium for a Sea Oats Planting.  The volunteers planted 5000 sea oat plants that had been donated by Pinellas County.  Once planted, the sea oats plants will help to establish dunes that will help mitigate the erosive effects of storm surge.

It's great to see public officials, non-profit organizations like the Florida Aquarium, and private citizens all coming together to protect our beautiful beach community!

At long last, all is well in St. Pete Beach!

Last night, for the first time in years, Edel and I went directly on to Upham Beach from the back gate of Starlight Tower, and went for a pleasant sunset walk on sand that was freshly deposited by the County's beach renourishment program.

But we didn't get far. Only 100 steps later we encountered a crowd of tourists who were happily settling down in a large circle to watch the Fire Dancers, a small band of fire-wielding bellydancers, (sponsored by the proprietors of the local Russian restaurant St. Petersburg Nights), whose appearance on Upham Beach on the first Saturday of each month supplements the exotic and unique beauty of the sunsets of St. Pete Beach. The sun was just beginning to set, and the dancers were teaching a handful of brave beachgoers some dance moves while their assistants were dousing various props with gasoline in preparation for the show.

Then darkness came and the show began. And as I beheld the many faces, young and old, delightedly transfixed by the spectacle of beautiful dancers, whirling flaming scimitars and the glowing, crimson Upham Beach sunset, I realized that this was a perfect ending to what has been a remarkably good week for St. Pete Beach.
























As a beach preservation activist, I was very pleased to be among the many tourists who were walking, playing and enjoying a beach that has been refreshed and preserved by the beach renourishment and geotextile T-groins installed during the recently-completed county/state/federal beach preservation project. But for that hard-fought project, that wonderful place would have had no sand, no beautiful dancers, and no tourists to enjoy them.



The week
also brought the excellent news that funding has been approved for the Pinellas Bayway project, which will replace the old, decaying drawbridge with a shining new bridge that will greatly ease congestion and improve traffic-flow on the south end of our island.
We also learned that Commissioner Bev Garnett was cleared of the last of the many ethics complaints filed against her by her rival/nemesis Harry Metz.

The City also recently filed a motion to dismiss the appeal currently pending with regards to the seemingly endless litigation regarding the City's redevelopment initiatives.

And, finally, we learned this week that the City of Yankeetown has filed a lawsuit to overturn the legislation that was recently passed that bans putting comprehensive plans to a vote.  Imagine that, litigation involving land use regulation and comprehensive plans, and St. Pete Beach isn't involved!


 The past few years have been very rough on the people of St. Pete Beach, but I think the events of this week are a wonderful sign of how far we have come, and how well the efforts of the city have been rewarded.
Because  of the efforts of our Mayors and Commissioners, our beaches are larger and more stable than they were just a few years ago, which draws more tourists and preserves and grows our local economy. Our new comprehensive plan has finally been freed from the shackles and constraints of litigation, so the redevelopment of our city can finally begin to take shape. The divisiveness and contention that once roiled our City Commission has been mercifully replaced with respectful, thoughtful, and responsible deliberation.


And, for the first time since I can remember, the headlines about strife, lawsuits and Comprehensive Plans are not featuring our city.

I never thought I'd have the pleasure of saying this, but if this week is any indication of the times to come, then, at long last, it may be safe to say aloud that all is well in St. Pete Beach.

Vandalism Damage to Upham Beach Geotextile T-Groins: Photographic Evidence

I must confess that I was surprised to see an article by David DeCamp about the Upham Beach Geotextile T-Groins in the April 18th edition of the St. Petersburg Times.   

It didn't necessarily surprise me that the Upham Beach Stabilization Project would be in the news, because St. Pete Beach property owners are enthusiastically supportive of the project and the local surfing community (led by the Suncoast Chapter of the Surfrider Foundation) has mounted strong and active resistance to the project, and the resulting controversy has received a lot of press coverage over the past few years. 

What surprised me is that Mr. DeCamp's story raises questions as to whether the Upham Beach geotubes have been damaged by vandalism, and whether the geotubes have been successful in preventing erosion of the sand on Upham Beach.  While reasonable minds can differ about whether County, State and/or Federal funds should be used for projects like this, I believe the reports and findings of the County's engineers, combined with common sense and simple observation clearly establish that:  

1. the Upham Beach geotubes were very successful at preventing the erosion of Upham Beach's sand before they were damaged,
2. the erosion of Upham Beach dramatically increased when the geotubes were damaged and were no longer able to perform as designed, and 
3. while there is no conclusive evidence of WHO caused the damage to the Upham geotubes, available photographic evidence clearly establishes that the geotubes suffered damage that could only have been caused by human hands, which leads to the reasonable (if not inexorable) conclusion that this damage, in combination with the natural force of stormsurge, contributed to the collapse and failure of the northern Upham geotubes.    
 

There are a lot of statements/claims in the DeCamp story that need to be checked or clarified, but in this post I'm going to focus on the issue of vandalism damage:  whether the Upham geotubes were vandalized and the extent to which such damage has impaired the erosion-prevention performance of the Upham geotubes.

In his story, DeCamp writes:

"Morroni and other advocates blame vandals in 2008 for damage to the T-groins, though there is no conclusive evidence for that, said Andy Squires, the county's deputy director of environmental management.  Critics at the Surfrider Foundation suggest the damage was caused by storms and wear and tear."

The vandalism damage to the Upham T-Groins was well documented with photographic evidence during presentations made to the St. Pete Beach City Commission in 2008, at a time when Dr. Nicole Elko was Pinellas County's Coastal Coordinator in charge of the project.  A simple Google search of "Upham Geotube" yields Channel 10 news coverage documenting vandalism to the Upham geotubes with Dr. Nicole Elko confirming and describing the vandalism damage to the Upham Geotubes as well as explaining how the damage played a role in the collapse of the tubes.  The same Google search reveals St. Petersburg Times news coverage in 2005 documenting vandalism damage to the Upham Geotubes.


Mr. Squires has only recently undertaken Dr. Elko's former duties and probably had not seen the photographic evidence, hence his quote.  While his comment is true to the extent that there is no conclusive evidence of WHO may have damaged the geotubes, the photographic record shows linear, rectangular holes and slash-like perforations in the tough, durable geotextile material that clearly were not caused by "storms" or "wear and tear" as alleged by the Surfrider Foundation, and the only reasonable conclusion is that the geotubes were damaged by intentional, determined human action, i.e., vandalism.

The following are some of the photographs that were presented in 2008 to evidence the vandalism damage to the Upham T-Groins: 

Here is a photo of  a rectangular hole that was cut in the seaward end of the stem of T1, the northernmost geotube:

 Here is a photograph of lacerations that were observed in the seaward end of the stem of T1.  Geotextile fabric is exceptionally tough material, and these gashes could not have been caused by natural causes or "wear and tear".

Now for some photographs that illustrate the devastating effect that this man-made damage has on the Upham geotubes.  Posted below are a series of photographs that show how quickly a vandalized geotube collapses when subjected to the force and strain of storm-surge.  These photographs show how the damaged geotube pictured above suffered complete collapse in less than 24 hours when it was subjected to the forces of Storm/Hurricane Ike in 2008:

The story told by these photographs is vividly clear:  the holes and slashes that were cut in the end of the geotube compromised the ability of the geotubes to maintain their structural integrity when they were impacted by the force of the waves and stormsurge of hurricane Ike.

OK, so this post is already getting a bit long, so I'll follow up later with a discussion of the effectiveness of the geotube design as an erosion control measure and some of the other points raised in the DeCamp story.  For now, I'll simply say that it is wrong to suggest that the Upham Geotubes have failed to function as designed as an erosion control measure:  I believe these photographs show that there is clear evidence that their structural integrity has been intentionally compromised by human action in a manner fundamentally inconsistent and incompatible with their engineering design, and this evidence is more than sufficient to rebut any claims or suggestions that the Upham geotubes were compromised merely by wear and tear.
 

Starlight Tower Honors St. Pete Beach Commissioner Christopher Leonard

On April 10, 2010, the Starlight Tower Association honored outgoing St. Pete Beach Commissioner Christopher Leonard with a Certificate of Appreciation in recognition of his years of service on the St. Pete Beach city commission. Located on the north end of Upham Beach, the Starlight Tower building has suffered the effects of chronic beach erosion and storm damage for decades, and Commissioner Leonard's dedication to beach preservation and storm protection for the city's upland properties earned him the respect and admiration of Starlight Tower's owners and residents. In addition to Commissioner Leonard's support of the many City/County/State beach preservation projects that have come before the City Commission over the past years, particular recognition was made of Commissioner Leonard's frequent personal visits to the Starlight Tower building to view first-hand the status of beach restoration, the progression of Upham Beach's erosion problems and the impact of such problems on upland property owners.

The Certificate of Appreciation presented to Commissioner Leonard read as follows:

"This Certificate is hereby presented to Christopher Leonard by the owners and residents of Starlight Tower in recognition and appreciation of his exceptional service as Commissioner of the City of St Pete Beach, Florida. The People of Starlight Tower express their particular appreciation of Commissioner Leonard's careful attention to their concerns about Beach Preservation and Storm Protection, and of his unwavering dedication to the protection of their lives, their homes, and the enduring beauty of their community."

Volunteers Needed for 2010 St. Pete Beach Sea Oats Planting Event!

On March 30, the Beach Stewardship Committee of St. Pete Beach began planning the City's 2010 Sea Oats Planting Event. Last year's event was a stunning success: Over 200 volunteers came from St. Pete Beach, Treasure Island, Tampa and St. Petersburg and planted over 10,000 sea oats seedlings in the dunes of Pass a Grille. The sea oats program is part of the City’s program to use both natural and structural solutions to prevent beach erosion and provide sustainable protection to upland homes and businesses from storm damage.

This year, the City hopes to exceed the success of last year! However, we need the help of volunteers in order to meet our goals. We currently need volunteers to serve as Team Leaders on the day of the event (currently tentatively scheduled for July 17, 2010 at 6:30 am, subject to change depending on weather).

Team Leaders will receive training in effective sea oats planting techniques and will then guide groups of 10 to 20 volunteers in sea oats planting on the day of the event.

The 2010 St.Pete Beach Sea Oats Planting Event is tentatively scheduled for June 19, 2010, starting at 6:30 a.m. (subject to change depending on weather patterns for optimal seedling survival after planting).

If you are interested in serving as a in serving as a team leader, please call Steve Hallock at 727 363-9224 and register for the event.