Agenda 04/11/2017 Item #10A04/11/2017
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Recommendation to provide a presentation by Drs. Michael Savarese, Professor of Marine Science,
Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU), and Peter Sheng, Professor of Coastal & Environmental
Engineering, University of Florida (UF) on an Interactive Decision-support Tool for Adaptation of
Coastal Urban and Natural Ecosystems in Southwest Florida, which is pending a grant award by
the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and a complementary presentation
by Mr. John Sorey, Chairman Collier County Coastal Advisory Committee (CAC), on the efforts to
begin the development of a long range beach/coastal resiliency plan.
OBJECTIVE: To provide updated information regarding vulnerability and resilience issues pertinent to
Collier County, including the ecosystems and beaches, through presentations by 1) Drs. Michael Savarese
and Peter Sheng on the pending NOAA grant award and the anticipated outcomes of the project and 2)
Mr. John Sorey on developing a coastal resilience plan, with an emphasis on storm surge protection.
CONSIDERATIONS:
Drs. Michael Savarese / Peter Sheng, FGCU / UF - NOAA Grant
On September 13, 2016, the Board of County Commissioners approved a Resolution of Support (Item
16A51-Resolution No.16-169) for a grant application to NOAA by Dr. Michael Savarese, Professor of
Marine Science, FGCU, and Dr. Peter Sheng, Coastal Engineer, UF, and a group of geoscientists, computer
modelers, social scientists, and ecologists to predict the impact of near-future sea-level rise and storm surge
on the coastal natural and human resources of Collier County, Florida. A similar Resolution of support
was approved by the Naples City Council on August 17, 2016 (Item 8) in recognition that the study
results may be used by local governments in Collier County to formulate plans, strategies and potential
adaptations relative to the predicted impacts of sea-level rise and storm surge.
The project, which will utilize state-of- the -art models, will create a series of maps for various scenarios
specific to the area. The maps will be integrated into an interactive decision-support tool that will be used
to identify vulnerabilities and allow for such information to be used for resiliency and other strategic
planning efforts. End users (Cities, County, etc.) will be involved throughout the project, including
providing review and feedback.
The proposal has been favorably reviewed, though a final contract is still forthcoming. Drs. Savarese and
Sheng will provide an update on the project as well as an overview on the anticipated outcomes of the
work.
Mr. John Sorey, Chairman, CAC- Coastal Resilience
At the December 8, 2016 meeting of the CAC, the committee reached consensus to recommend that the
County consider developing a long range beach/coastal resilience plan. The CAC further recommended a
process to solicit thoughts and ideas from County management and experts in the field to determine 1)
what types of initial concepts and improvements are most likely to be successfully permitted and 2)
developing a framework to establish a coastal resilience program, specifically to address storm surge,
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erosion and protection of coastal infrastructure.
Based on the guidance above, the following information was included as part of a presentation (attached)
to the CAC on March 9, 2017 to develop a “road map” for a coastal resilience plan, which builds
incrementally upon the established County program.
Directionally, the program would focus on:
More beach mass to resist erosion
Higher and wider beaches
Dunes and coastal plantings
Feeder beaches and embedded sand stockpiles to protect hardbottom resources
Coarser sand is the key to success
Integrate dunes, existing structures and offshore breakwaters to create continuous and
comprehensive levels of protection
Mr. John Sorey, Chairman of the CAC, will provide information on the coastal resilience discussions to
date and potential next steps.
FISCAL IMPACT: There is no fiscal impact related to this item.
GROWTH MANAGEMENT IMPACT: This is no growth management impact related to this item.
LEGAL CONSIDERATIONS: N/A.-SRT
RECOMMENDATION: To receive information regarding vulnerability and resilience issues pertinent
to Collier County, including the ecosystems and beaches, through presentations by 1) Dr. Michael
Savarese, Professor of Marine Science, FGCU and Peter Sheng, Professor of Coastal & Environmental
Engineering, UF on the pending NOAA grant award and the anticipated outcomes of the project and 2)
Mr. John Sorey, Chairman, CAC, on developing a coastal resilience plan, with an emphasis on storm
surge protection.
Prepared by: Penny Taylor, Chairman - Commissioner District 4
ATTACHMENT(S)
1. CAC Resilience ES (PDF)
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COLLIER COUNTY
Board of County Commissioners
Item Number: 10.A
Doc ID: 3020
Item Summary: ***This item to be heard at 1:00 p.m.*** Recommendation to provide a
presentation by Drs. Michael Savarese, Professor of Marine Science, Florida Gulf Coast University
(FGCU), and Peter Sheng, Professor of Coastal & Environmental Engineering, Univers ity of Florida (UF)
on an Interactive Decision-support Tool for Adaptation of Coastal Urban and Natural Ecosystems in
Southwest Florida, which is pending a grant award by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA) and a complementary presentation by Mr. John Sorey, Chairman Collier County
Coastal Advisory Committee (CAC) on the efforts to begin the development of a long range beach/coastal
resiliency plan. (Commissioner Taylor)
Meeting Date: 04/11/2017
Prepared by:
Title: Executive Secretary to County Manager – County Manager's Office
Name: MaryJo Brock
04/05/2017 9:11 AM
Submitted by:
Title: County Manager – County Manager's Office
Name: Leo E. Ochs
04/05/2017 9:11 AM
Approved By:
Review:
County Attorney's Office Scott Teach Level 2 Attorney Review Completed 04/05/2017 9:19 AM
Office of Management and Budget MaryJo Brock Level 3 OMB Gatekeeper Review Skipped 04/05/2017 9:10 AM
County Attorney's Office MaryJo Brock Level 3 County Attorney's Office Review Skipped 04/05/2017 9:10 AM
County Manager's Office Leo E. Ochs Level 4 County Manager Review Completed 04/05/2017 3:02 PM
Board of County Commissioners MaryJo Brock Meeting Pending 04/11/2017 9:00 AM
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Discuss the Coastal Resilience Plan for Collier County and make a recommendation on how to
proceed.
OBJECTIVE: To obtain a recommendation on how to proceed with the Coastal Resilience Plans for
Collier County.
CONSIDERATIONS:
Coastal Resiliency Next Steps in Collier County
This discussion paper was developed in consultation with Thomas Pierro the President of CBI, formally
Coastal Planning and Engineering, Dr. Lainie Edwards of FDEP and Dr. James Houston, Ph.D., USACE
Research and Development Center. I want to thank all three of these individuals for their thoughts and
ideas and assistance in addressing this highly complex and long term issue.
Background
Collier County Coastal Resiliency has been an “off agenda” topic of the Coastal Advisor Committee
(CAC) for the past several months but spotlighting by the recent series of articles in the NDN and sea
level rise discussions. Recently, the CAC has proposed to broaden its perspective and in addition to
project development/execution explore coastal resiliency issues/plans for the County. Discussions at the
CAC were limited to storm surge, erosion and undermining coastal infrastructure. It was felt that inland
flooding is a separate but related issue that maybe best addressed through a distinct and different Sea
Level Rise (SLR) study. The overall focus of the CAC was to identify now what should be implemented
over the next five (5) years to protect our coastal community from the effects of storm surge over the next
50 years.
The CAC suggested identifying and investigating Collier County’s barriers to coastal resiliency.
Specifically, what is the frame work we should be operating within and are there any low hanging fruit
that would be easy to achieve and provide significant benefits. Some items discussed were:
o Wider and higher beaches under current FDEP/USACE regulations
o Dunes and coastal plantings
o Issues of near shore hardbottom
o Submerged breakwaters
o Opportunities and probabilities for coastal hardening
o Offshore mangrove islands
o What are the regulatory barriers that would affect our plans and how can they be overcome
The CAC also requested staff to meet with the County Manager and solicit his thoughts and ideas on how
to proceed. The County Manager directed staff to research a Coastal Resiliency program for Collier
County and bring back thoughts and ideas on how to proceed.
Build on What’s Existing
The elements of Collier County’s beach nourishment program should be allowed to evolve with time to
take advantage of lessons learned and to incorporate new goals. The present program has been highly
successful in achieving the goals of buffering erosion, maintaining the recreation quality of the beach,
nourishing on a flexible schedule with multiple sand sources, and exercising environmental sensitivity.
CAC March 9, 2017
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The next step is to improve upon this plan by adding increased storm protection and climate change
resiliency to the goals with incremental improvements to the existing plan, using a cost effective approach
that improves the resident and tourist experience at the beach. Many of these objectives can be met with
construction of a wider beach, a larger dune system and an improved construction method to build these
features.
Develop a Road Map
The County should conduct a feasibility level report to investigate improving the beach nourishment
program in a manner such as discussed above and outlined below. The resulting report should define new
goals and update objectives, and further explore options for improving resiliency by building upon the
established program. This process should aim to seek conceptual approval and comments from the Florida
Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) and other regulatory agencies based on existing
information for assurance such that the final plan will be supported for permit issuance and state cost
sharing. This feasibility level report should cost no more than $25,000.
Concurrently with the Road Map Pick the Low Hanging Fruit
1. In order to safeguard nearshore hardbottom resources, the 2006 and 2013 beach renourishment
projects were designed and built with a permitted template that assumed the use of sand with a
similar grain size as the 2003 beach conditions. This resulted in an estimated Equilibrium Toe of
Fill (ETOF) permitted approximately 50 feet further offshore than the actual performance of the
2006 beach project. The sand used for the 2006 and 2013 projects had an average mean grain size
of 0.32 mm, which was considerably coarser than the beach sand that existed in 2003. The
continued use of this coarser sand, and keeping the 2006 permitted ETOF unchanged, will
allow for a wider beach with no additional impacts to the nearshore hardbottom.
Given typical alongshore and cross-shore variability, this added width may not be uniformly
realized in all areas, but it can be refined through engineering analysis to create a project with
increased durability and width to resist storm impacts. To determine the size of the added beach
width available, the results of recent profile surveys that best represent the equilibrium condition
at each R-monument can be compared to the permitted ETOF to establish the existing buffer to
hardbottom. Based on this comparison, the allowable added distance can be applied to create a
new design condition and renourishment interval.
2. In regions where hardbottom resources are closer to shore, a feeder beach or embedded sand
stockpile may be considered to achieve increased protection without direct placement.
3. Throughout all beach segments, raise the height of the beach dunes from approximately five (5)
feet to six (6) feet to provide more beach critical mass to resist storms surge.
4. A wider beach will provide space to build up the natural dune system, which would increase the
storm surge protection qualities of the beach. The dunes can be integrated with existing structures
and the natural dune line to create a continuous and comprehensive level of protection for coastal
infrastructure. To define the optimum height and location of dunes, the level of protection needs
to be established based on constructability, cost, easements and the ability to impeded wave run
up and over topping from the design storm. However, adding another 10 to 20 feet of vegetative
dunes from the 50 feet of increased beach width at an elevation of six (6) feet is not unreasonable.
CAC March 9, 2017
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Pick the Low Hanging Fruit
Implementing these first four measures could easily take two years of modeling, design and permitting
and would require approximately 1.1M cubic yards of sand. Construction costs could be expected to be
in excess of $30M and engineering costs in excess of $1M. Because of the larger quantities, this project
could only be accomplished with hopper dredge construction and would require a revised sand lease with
the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management.
Other Items to Consider in Developing a Road Map
Other project features can complement a wider beach, larger dune and improved construction method to
help build resiliency for the coastal community. For example, setting up emergency contracting
procedures, and including use of embedded beach stockpiles and sand from the inlets, will promote quick
bounce back after storms. The tuning or removal of structures may also promote better sand retention or
bypassing, as appropriate.
A proposed approach to building resiliency is provided below:
1. Assess System and Update Standards
• Evaluate potential weaknesses in existing coastal system
• Define existing and desired level of protection for beach and dune system
• Increase resistance to storms:
o Wider beach for improved protection
o Higher and wider dunes for property and infrastructure protection
o Establish continuous frontal coverage
o Embed or incorporate structures in dune to meet defined level of protection where space
is limited
• Claim the coarse sand credit:
o Use the estimated toe of fill (ETOF) permitted with 2006 project
o Design and permit a wider beach with no or little additional mitigation reef
• Refine alongshore design:
o Changes and refinements where natural resources or other features dictate
o Implement longer projects incrementally
2. Maintain and enhance environmental function:
• Avoid hardbottom coverage
• Turtle friendly beach
• Vegetated dunes
• Shorebird habitat
3. Implement Incremental Improvements
• Incorporate feeder beach and embedded sand stockpile into wider beach design
• Improve sand bypassing at inlets
• Implement “use sand twice” and other natural sand transport principals
• Promote beach ambiance for tourist and residents by minimizing intrusions
• Tune existing structures for better sand retention (or bypassing) pertinent for situation
• Evaluate strategic coastal structures (groins, breakwaters) to address sand distribution
• Employ site-specific armoring (seawalls, revetments) in critical infrastructure locations
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• Identify improvements that may reduce the potential for bayside impacts
4. Take Proactive Actions
• Keep permits active and up to date with evolving approach
• Set-up emergency contracting procedures
• Create standby plans and specifications for quick reaction
• Use embedded stockpile and inlet sand for quick response to storms
• Coordinate early to reduce construction costs
o Consultation with dredgers and contractors
o Identify improvements that will lead to significant cost savings
o Implement larger project for economy of scale cost savings
o Develop bidding strategy for economical project
FISCAL IMPACT: N/A
GROWTH MANAGEMENT IMPACT: There is no impact to the Growth Management Plan related to
this action.
ADVISORY COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATIONS: Recommendation solicited.
LEGAL CONSIDERATIONS: N/A
RECOMMENDATION: To discuss the Coastal resilience plan for Collier County and make a
recommendation on how to proceed.
Prepared By: J. Gary McAlpin, P.E., Coastal Zone Management, Capital Project Planning, Impact Fees
and Program Management Division, Growth Management Department
CAC March 9, 2017
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