Rising cost of keeping a beach

Longboat Key’s beach consultants from Olsen Associates Inc. have recommended the town install as many as five more groins on the north end of the island to help slow down the constant erosion that has been a source of angst for the residents whose properties seem constantly threatened.

An initial thought: Uh-oh, is this the start of returning to the 1970s and 1980s when Longboat Key’s and Florida’s beaches were lined with groins?

Al Browder, vice president of Olsen, says officials at the Florida Department of Environmental Protection are acutely vigilant about what goes on the beaches. 

But in this case, here is the reality: Ever since Hurricane Sandy struck the Northeast, the cost of dredges and sand has mushroomed. What’s more, north Longboat erosion has always been unusually fast.

The additional groins, Browder says, at least will hold sand longer so Longboat won’t be forced to dump sand on the north end every one or two years.