Beach Renourishment

Damage to Brevard County's beaches from Hurricanes Ian and Nicole last fall exceeded $70 million.

The storms ate away huge chunks of beach along the southern portions of the county, in some cases undermining parts of buildings along the dune lines and turning dune crossovers into piles of driftwood. Much of the cost of repairing the beaches eventually will be paid by the federal and state governments. The federal government pays for most of the beach renourishment from Port Canaveral south to the Melbourne Beach area. However, the 14.5 miles of south beaches stretch from Spessard Holland Park to Sebastian Inlet is the County's responsibility.

We anticipate that FEMA, in conjunction with the Florida Division of Emergency Management, will reimburse the county for much of the storm damage to the south beaches. The reimbursement could take two to three years.

Beach-related tourism has an over $1 billion-a-year impact on the County.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will likely pay for most of the renourishment work on Brevard beaches south of Patrick Space Force Base that sustained an estimated $45 million in total damages from the storms. That work on those areas, which total 11.4 miles, is expected to take place from November 2023 through April 2024. For the beach areas that the Army Corps of Engineers manages, the County has applied with the Corps of Engineers for emergency storm response funding through its flood control and coastal emergency program.

Latest estimates indicate that beach repairs in the south beaches related to the 2022 storms will total $22.49 million. That will use all beach funds and reserves, plus require an additional $6.44 million to be drawn from federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds that the County received. County Commissioners approved the ARPA fund allocation on Dec. 6.