VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. — Volusia County wants to hear from its residents about the future of its coastline.
The county is sharing some of the shoreline trends that it is seeing.
That includes a risk assessment of how close the shoreline is to homes and businesses, as well as erosion rates.
For county residents, they are happy the county is advocating for the beaches, because many of them are, too.
Pattie Gertenbach was one of many who attended Volusia County’s community sessions on long-term coastal resiliency strategies.
“I was very impressed. So, they have a lot of data and they’re going to crunch that data together and come up with strategic solutions,” Gertenbach said.
Jessica Fentress, coastal director for Volusia County, says they are just getting started.
They encourage people to learn more about the beaches in their communities.
“We anticipate another round of public meetings with specific recommendations for each community, probably later this summer. At that point, that’s when we’re really going to hone down on what our resiliency solutions are for our shorelines,” Fentress said.
The county believes the hard work will pay off.
“The purpose of this whole study is to ensure that as the storms keep coming and hitting Florida, we can keep building back better,” Fentress said.
Gertenbach encourages people to do their part, learn about the beaches, and advocate for them.
“The beaches are important economically, environmentally, and part of our way of life here in Volusia County,” Gertenbach said.
For more information on the county's plan and how you can get involved, visit this link.
That next round of meetings is expected this summer.
That’s when the county’s coastal engineering consultant will look at things like issues surrounding erosion and seawalls before coming up with a recommended plan to address the issues.
Other coastal projects the county is working on include the Army Corps Inlet Coastal Dredging Project. That starts in April.
The Rattlesnake Island Dredging Project will start later this summer.
