County takes a pass on alternative to opening Midnight Pass

Sarasota county commissioners have taken the first step in resolving the longstanding controversy over the closing of Midnight Pass between the Gulf of Mexico and Little Sarasota Bay. 

The inlet that separated Casey Key and Siesta Key, once critical to the water quality of Little Sarasota Bay, was closed in 1983 when the Army Corps of Engineers deepened Little Sarasota Bay as the Intracoastal Waterway and deposited dredged material at the inlet, which eventually was filled by two property owners.

As a result, the lack of free exchange of tidal waters has resulted in poor conditions in Little Sarasota Bay. How to mitigate the situation is now more a matter of state legislative policy as commissioners heard at their Sept. 10 meeting that the likelihood of state and federal environmental agency approval to reopen the inlet is practically nil.

That news was delivered by Michael Jenkins, an engineer with Applied Technology and Management based in West Palm Beach. 

“I'm fully aware of the history of Midnight Pass,” Jenkins said. “It is well known within coastal engineering circles in Florida. It is a well-known discussion that's gone on for many decades.”

However, Jenkins told commissioners he could not in good conscience recommend pursuing an opening of Midnight Pass when legal precedent in Florida all but prohibits the creation of new inlets although, arguably, Midnight Pass is an old inlet that was closed by human, rather than natural, intervention.

Because the primary issue is water quality in Little Sarasota Bay, Jenkins said the options for the commission to consider include:

Option A: Pursue studies for reopening Midnight Pass.

Option B: Consider something less intensive, and allowable in Florida, to exchange Gulf and bay water such as a system to pump water in and naturally exchange the water through inlets both north and south of Little Sarasota Bay.

The commission unanimously chose option C, which is: If current legislation doesn’t allow reopening of Midnight Pass, work to change the law.

Courtesy image

Jenkins and his company were contracted to develop plans for initiatives to improve the water quality in Little Sarasota Bay after the county received approval for a $500,000 legislative appropriation to fund initial design and permitting efforts to re-establish a tidal connection between Little Sarasota Bay and the Gulf of Mexico.

“The primary concern with that is, in good conscience we cannot recommend something knowing that under the current rules, it would not be allowed, and you would spend considerable effort to reach that conclusion,” Jenkins told commissioners. “If that is indeed your intent, we would just recommend a more fundamental approach, starting with a legislative solution.”

Instead, Jenkins pitched the concept of pumping water from the Gulf into the bay at strategic locations to dilute pollutants and, functioning as Intracoastal waterways do, the mixture would naturally flow back into the Gulf via inlets both north and south. That approach would pass legal muster as such pumping is already permitted for purposes including exchanging water with aquariums, cooling nuclear power stations and desalination plants. 

He also provided a crash course in how inlets interact with and impact each other.

“Inlets rely on the difference in water levels to drive currents that keep the pass open, and you have to have enough water going through that inlet on any given day to keep that pass open. If you don't, it'll close,” Jenkins said. “Inlets require sufficient velocity of water, a tidal prism, to stay open and inlets also compete for that. 

“Right now, the tidal prism that Midnight Pass used to have has been taken up by the adjacent inlets. If you establish a new inlet, it would be taking that prism back from either Venice or big Sarasota (Bay).”

Costs to implement the concept compared to reopening the pass may be negligible in that an inlet as narrow as Midnight Pass would require occasional dredging to remain open, as it will naturally want to close, Jenkins said. Inlets also will borrow sand from adjacent beach areas, which are already subject to erosion, in addition to other environmental factors.

A lengthy technical discussion on the pumping option brought the commissioners back to their primary preference — reopening Midnight Pass as it was originally.

“Not speaking for anybody else, but my intent was a tidal connection,” said Commissioner Neil Rainford, who represents South County.

Added Joe Neunder, whose district includes the southern portion of Siesta Key and Casey Key, “I'm interested in re-establishing that historical tidal connection that benefits water quality, period. That’s what it is for me, and I do appreciate the alternative options.”

At that, commissioners voted unanimously to instruct staff to work with the county’s lobbyist, the community and the state delegation to draft an amendment to amend the Florida statute to allow for restoration of the tidal connection to Little Sarasota Bay.

“I just think that it's important that we recognize that the legislature in this past session provided Sarasota County with $500,000 to re-establish the tidal connection," Rainford said. “Along with our governor’s signature, I think we have the political capital to continue that effort.”