Palm Beach is moving toward creation of a “living shoreline” to protect against erosion and flooding along a stretch of the Lake Worth Lagoon in the North End.
The living shoreline would be developed along 900 feet of the lake, west of North Lake Way, the Lake Trail and the Palm Beach Country Club golf course. The area is currently an eroded stretch of sand with invasive plant species and a rock revetment the town placed there to protect against further erosion.
A living shoreline uses material such as mangroves and other native vegetation and rocks to stabilize the shore. It limits erosion and flooding while creating marine habitat.
A living shoreline can be a successful alternative to a seawall, which is far more costly to build and maintain, Public Works Director Paul Brazil told the Town Council at its April 8 meeting.
The Town Council unanimously voted to authorize staff to pursue grants to fund the project. That includes a Florida Inland Navigation District (FIND) grant that would reimburse the town for up to 50 percent of the cost, Brazil said.
“This is a no-brainer,” Mayor Danielle Moore said. “It’s a great project.”
Councilman Ted Cooney noted that the living shoreline would provide storm protection for a segment of North Lake Way – one of two hurricane evacuation routes for the North End.
“This seems like an outstanding project,” Cooney said.
The Palm Beach Country Club is interested in participating in the project. Part of the living shoreline would be on the country club’s property, Brazil said. Some private property owners in the town are also interested in participating.
If the project is successful, it could open the door to other living shorelines being built on both public and privately owned property in the town, Brazil said.
“We could set an example here,” Council President Bobbie Lindsay agreed.
Beth Dowdle, conservation chairman of the Garden Club of Palm Beach, said the organization has been studying mangroves and living shorelines for five years as part of its mission to encourage the use of native plants to restore ecosystems.
The garden club and town cooperated in looking for the best site for the living shoreline project. Last year, the council hired Applied Technology & Management to design the project for $157,000. The firm recommended the 900-foot stretch of shore that is now being considered because it is significantly eroded and because there isn’t already a seawall there, Dowdle said.
Applied Technology & Management performed a seagrass survey and developed a design that calls for installing a limestone breakwater to protect a planting bed for red mangrove trees that would form the heart of the living shoreline.
“They really are our first line of defense – absorbing wave energy whenever there is a storm,” Dowdle said of the mangroves.
Mangroves are a salt-tolerant, small-to-medium sized evergreen tree that grows in coastal ecosystems. They are called the “walking tree” because their deep root systems build up the shoreline, Dowdle said.
“Their deep roots hang onto the land,” she said. “They help us create more land. They are a nursery for sea life and help filter pollutants.”
Mangroves sequester more carbon than any other tree on earth, she said. They also protect the seagrass that provides food for the manatees.
Only one-tenth of 1 percent of Earth’s surface is suitable for mangroves to live. Palm Beach falls within that area.
The mangrove trees would have to be trimmed to preserve the lake vista, Brazil said. But that would not lessen the protection provided by their root systems.
The council heard from 7th grade students at Palm Beach Day Academy who have helped plant mangroves on the Lake Worth Lagoon shore. The students presented the council and Moore with a petition supporting the living shoreline.
Kim Frisbie, a Garden Club member, said living shorelines are beautiful and resilient: “Living shorelines are proven to perform far better during major storms than hardened shorelines.”
Town liability
In the 1940s, the Town of Palm Beach signed an agreement with the Palm Beach Country Club in which the town assumed liability for construction of a seawall along 1,600 feet of the lake shore in the area west of the country club golf course, Brazil said. The country club has the right to request that the town build the seawall.
“This living shoreline will probably eliminate the need for construction of a very expensive seawall in the future,” Brazil said.
If the project is successful, it could pave the way for another living shoreline to be developed on the lake shore at Bradley Park. That could eliminate the need for a replacement seawall at that location, Brazil said.
“That wall is very old and it’s going to be very expensive to replace,” he said.
Brazil said the living seawall is advantageous for everyone involved.
“This is a very good experiment for town properties, and I think it will set a very good example for private property owners who are going to be faced with the same [challenge] the town is faced with,” he said.
Our Town sponsored by:
