New Inlet

[Smiling JOe]

Please note the date on the link from Beach to Bay. That was part of a report written in 1999 and was never enacted. Starting in 2000, the County through the TDC and under the eye of an on-staff coastal scientisyt conducted a 3-year feasibility study that highlighted beach restoration for Western Walton County and it was completed in 2007. Now a second phase is planned for eastern Walton County but NO ARMORING is planned at the outfalls and no work at all around the Western Lake Outfall. Visit www.protectwaltoncountybeaches.com for more info.

IMO, it sure would be nice if that website was up to date.

I just saw your question of the date of that issue on the other thread, and I, too, wish that they would at least put a date of publishing on their pages. Thanks for pointing out the time frame of that issue. So did the TDC change its thoughts that the lakes are destroying the dunes, rather than the development on top of the dune system destroying the dunes?

 

[Bdarg]

I came up with about a half dozen cons and another half dozen pros.

Con:

? Would destroy the natural open/close cycle of the dune lakes. This in turn would destroy the saltwater/freshwater cycle and balance of life in the dune lakes. This in turn would cause invasive plants and animals to flourish while native flora and fauna would likely dwindle or die.
? Opening the lake full time to the gulf would likely cause the lake to fill in, so any recreational benefit would be only fleeting at best. If you have ever watched one of these lakes open up, you should have noticed the natural dredging that takes place as the lake drains. The 6-inch to 1-foot tides in this area would not promote a deep lake.
? Nature/God is far better at creating a well balance ecosystem than man is. Notice also that Nature/God did not include a speedboat in their plan.
? Most of the lake is not deep enough for power boats as it stands anyway. From canoeing the lakes the vast majority of the lakes are only a couple of feet deep.
? The cost to permit (if a permit would even be issued), build and constantly maintain any marina would be cost prohibitive, especially since the non-public land is already highly sought after real estate (and especially so when the real estate market is up and running).
? Of course the aforementioned lack of parking and already over crowded facilities.


Pro:
? It would be providing the much sought after rumblings of more power boats on the lakes.
? It would be adding the mosquito squelching sheen of 2-cycle motor oil to the otherwise somewhat pristine waters of the lakes. That is, at least until the lake filled in and dried up.
? The propellers might hack to death the pythons that were supposedly let loosing in a couple of the lakes.
? Dredging and maintenance would provide desperate politicians with a reason to raise local taxes.
? Would promote coastal erosion and provide more reason for coastal seawalls.
? Would provide engineers and lawyers with jobs for a couple of decades.

I have not even mentioned that opening the lakes would also provide the storm surge free access to the lakes, thus allowing greater access for the surge to the houses. The outlet in all likelihood if you consider the erodiblity of the soils and flat terrain along the lakes mean that the outlet would jump its manmade course during storm events and thus endangering more homes.

At a minimum it would be a lot of pubic tax, expense and headache just to get your jet ski across the sand and into the gulf. A beach permit, a trailer permit and a four wheel drive, (or better yet a friend with those) would be a much cheaper way to provide the blaring engine noise to ruin everyone?s quite and peaceful day at the beach.

 

[Smiling JOe]

thought of some more pros -- It would enable jet ski businesses and jet ski owners a way to legally access the Gulf. I guess some people looking to enjoy the quietness of the beach and their lake front homes would disagree and say that is a con.

pro- our taxes would only slightly increase in order to pay for the new bridges need on 30A and in the State Park, which would provide money for some families who work for the contractors.

Pro- if passed, the County Commissioners voting in favor would have their political pockets lined for a long time.

pro- boat sales would increase and we would likely have a boat store open in SoWal.

pro- the port-a-john business owners and their employees would rent a few more port-a-johns for the construction process.

pro- more culture would come to the area as Mexicans were hired for construction jobs for the project, and the Mexican's families back in Mexico, would benefit from the US dollars coming to them.

pro- Iraqis would sell a bit more oil, and the US oil and gasoline industry would have more revenues from the gas and oil sales.

pro- maybe we could get a jet-ski store in SoWal.

pro- Japanese jet ski manufacturers would increase their revenues, keeping it tax free from the US gov't.

I'm going to stop there for the moment.

 

[greenroomsurfer]

The cons are simple, we bury bmbv under the new jetty so he will quit posting. Habius Corpus- show me the body! Kind of like the oil seeping out of the arizona to remind us of the dark past.

 

[BlueMtnBeachVagrant]

why don't you go with Blue Mt Vagrant and live somewhere else full time....

Such hostility on Thanksgiving Day? Can't wait for Christmas.

At least let me take a position on this thread first before you kick me out of SoWal.

Oh, sorry, I have no opinion here since there is no chance in hell it (another big ditch) would or could ever happen.

There..... do I still have to live somewhere else?

Hugs and kisses.

 

[emeraldcoastdav]

I gave you 3 cons- parking issues, traffic problems in Grayton, and messing with the dune lake.

I am not seeing any pros.

No, my house wasn't always here, but the original owners did not alter a dune lake to build it.

Yes, the landscape is changed a lot to suit our needs. I think it is now our job to make sure the changes are responsible and necessary. Creating a jetty for surfing is not necessary.

So what you are saying is, what you want is here, so now it is time to stop developement.
It's hard to take you seriously.

 

[emeraldcoastdav]

I spoke with someone from the TDC about boat ramps around the area. She stated that the county was working on one in the IB area. Not sure what ever came of this. Anyone know anything about it? Would that work or would it be more convenient to murder the coastal dune lakes? I use the word murder because once you cut thru to the Gulf and install Jetties it is no longer a dune lake and becomes an inlet.

This location would be good for me too.

 

[emeraldcoastdav]

Okay, I have an idea for emeraldcoastdav that answers his original question, who to contact.
Petition the Army Corps of Engineers to reroute the Intracoastal Waterway.

There is precedent for that and it has been done.

 

[emeraldcoastdav]

Con -- One of the things which makes our Gulf waters in this area so Emerald Green, is that fact that there aren't any rivers flowing directly into it. The rivers are filtered out through the Bays. Cutting a ditch through the east end of the Bay to the Gulf, would cause the Emerald Green waters to be no more, as there are five rivers which feed into the north east side of the Bay. The Bay wouldn't be able to filter out the water coming from the brown waters of the rivers.

That is a good point but why are the beaches at our two adjoining inlets so pristine.

 

[emeraldcoastdav]

Please note the date on the link from Beach to Bay. That was part of a report written in 1999 and was never enacted. Starting in 2000, the County through the TDC and under the eye of an on-staff coastal scientisyt conducted a 3-year feasibility study that highlighted beach restoration for Western Walton County and it was completed in 2007. Now a second phase is planned for eastern Walton County but NO ARMORING is planned at the outfalls and no work at all around the Western Lake Outfall. Visit www.protectwaltoncountybeaches.com for more info.

IMO, it sure would be nice if that website was up to date.

Thank You!