Save Our Beach

I reached out to Atkins global to ensure we knew what was going on and what was next.  As many people saw, there was a ship off the coast getting borings of the soil where the breakwaters will go to ensure they will be on sound footing and will not sink into the ground. The funding for this was approved by the county commissioners back in April.  Definitely a great sign of progress.  So - from the update -  the Sargent breakwater and groin(jetty) project is on schedule.  It is not going to start in the fall.  Plans are for end of December or first of January for construction of breakwaters and groin. We were hoping the permit would be complete in the fall. I then wanted to know - what's next.  This is not the full solution - this is a pilot program and this is the response:  Yes, this is a pilot and the intent is to replicate the project. We will monitor the project after construction most likely at 6 months and at 1 year. We should see results f...

We were featured on Fox News tonight about the Caney Creek flooding that has not gone down after two bad storms.  GLO just awarded a ton of money - $8 million to Matagorda and $5 million to Palacious for drainage work.  Sargent gets nothing.  We have to push our elected leaders to do more.  https://www.fox26houston.com/news/beach-town-of-sargent-in-matagorda-county-still-dealing-with-flooding Press coverage like this will help!  Let's Clear Caney Creek!   

The Commissioners Court is where we need more help to tap into the millions of dollars from state and federal sources for both drainage and beach erosion.  And there are literally millions and millions of dollars if we had a plan and we had politicians pushing to get it.  So how do we get more help from the Commissioners Court in Matagorda County? We elect people who represent Sargent and our interests.   THE NEXT ELECTION IS NOVEMBER 2022.  Precinct 2 and the County Judge are both up for re-election in 2022.   THOSE THAT WANT TO RUN MUST FILE between November 14, 2021 - December 14, 2021 - so if you are thinking of running - get your stuff together.  1) Contact the county elections officer or your party's county chair. The elections officer can provide information about the availability of filing papers and answer questions regarding nominating petitions and other ballot procedures. 2) Arrange to pick up required paperwork. 3) Return your complet...

 https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/555083-biden-doubling-fema-funds-for-extreme-weather-preparations The Biden administration will direct $1 billion toward the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) fund for extreme weather preparation, a 100 percent increase over existing funding levels, the White House announced Monday. The budget increase will go to the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) program, which provides support for local, state and tribal government preparation efforts. The increase, and the program in general, are part of an effort to “categorically shift the federal focus” from responding to individual disasters on a case-by-case basis to “research-supported, proactive investment in community resilience,” the White House said. “As climate change threatens to bring more extreme events like increased floods, sea level rise, and intensifying droughts and wildfires, it is our responsibility to better prepare and support communit...

There is a program called living shorelines - in Texas . Obviously part of our ongoing flooding and erosion issues, if we had dunes, we would be better off.  And there are funding and grants for this. So I contacted the living shorelines people and got a great response back - pretty quickly - so there are things we can do and help we can get to restore some of the dunes and put plants that will help keep those dunes in place.  Lots more research to do here. But a great call today.  The person that responded to me already referred me to the right people and I am reading the through the Matagorda beach plan (which is mainly Matagorda and not Sargent). The bottom line is that there is funding and programs to help - we just have to highlight the problem, find the right solutions and then start pushing to get help to implement those solutions. A lot of work.  But we can Save Sargent Beach.  Mr. Saba, Wow that is some erosion going on! You have great photos and docum...

 There is an item on the County Commissioners agenda for Monday 17 May to: This is as expected on the timing is still right.  The borings are the next step to ensure the placement of the jetty and breakwaters will be stable.  So all is good and the funds from GOMESA are already allocated to this project. 

So the bid is open by Brazoria County for the fully funded opening of the mouth of the San Bernard River.  We need this because we get sand from the river that flows down to Sargent Beach.  As the mouth is opened we will see some increased flow of sand and our new jetty and breakwaters will then help keep the sand here.  So this is more progress!   https://www.brazoriacountytx.gov/departments/purchasing/bid-opportunities Apr 27  -  Brazoria County Commissioners’  Court  approved advertising bids for dredging the mouth of the  San Bernard River  by Order No. 6.I.3. Bid contracts should finalized by  May 25th .