Save Our Beach

5/17 - the Matagorda County Commissioners approved submission of a revised permit to the Army Corps of Engineers - another step in the process.  We have now been working on this for 12 years to get this done and the project will cost between $50-60 million. So what they said at the meeting is the permits and engineering will FINALLY be done by the end of June and bidding for the project can begin - anticipate 2-3 months for that and we are still on track for September / October start date.  This is a model for the rest of Texas and can have far reaching impacts for the ICW - let's hope so.  So as usual - I would advise against holding your breath - but we still have support, we have people working on it and we are making progress.  Also - big thank you to John for delivering this summary to the County Commissioners on May 10th Sargent resident John Obenhaus addressed the Matagorda County commissioners over five “dangerous conditions” on or near the Sargent beaches. “...

  From the agenda for the Matagorda County Commissioners meeting for Monday May 2, 2022 for CEPRA funding for the Sargent beach nourishment!  getting there - slowly 

 1.  They came out to survey the beach and the surf for the beach nourishment project last week.  So that is good news.  2.  Jetty and breakwater project - movement is slow - but is still movement - while it is frustrating it is going to happen - latest update: Several moving parts here.   Not as simple as building a road. We are meeting with project partners this week to update project element timing. New news is that we will partner with USACE Federal Navigation Section and utilize the material from the Mouth of Colorado River as our sand source.   A true federal BUDM component for the project. (Beneficial Use of Dredged Material) Very pleased that the Corps, Port of Bay City have now become partners with us for this effort. Great news. 3.  Opening the San Bernard - someone heard they were having trouble finishing the project and that it stopped.  They have not stopped but they are having trouble since they have to operate from the oce...

So the Matagorda County Commissioners voted to approve the final engineering design and survey for the Sargent Historic Beach Nourishment Project  - as you recall from a previous Sargent Beach Post - this will be the following stretch of beach that will be renourished.  The goal is to put this in place after the jetty and breakwaters are in place As for the main project - it is now time to go to the Request For Proposal (RFP) phase - there have been many, including myself, that felt this would take a few months and be done.  But this is a major project and because it is over $5 million, it has to go to the Texas Comptroller.  So the way it looks now - all the documentation will go to GLO, they will create the final RFP  - the timeline for all this to happen is 6 months - adding the 30 days from the comptroller, I think we we are looking at September for the RFP process to be complete and then construction to begin some time in October.  The actual project,...

UPDATE:  The mouth of the San Bernard is now open! The contractor posted this picture yesterday.  This is awesome. The picture below is from their November 12 updated.  HUGE PROGRESS. Thanks Ernest Lawson for providing the info!  San Bernard picture as of November 12, 2021 They are about 70% of the way there towards completion and you can see it really starting to move.   Also got an update from the contractor on the Sargent Beach Jetty and Breakwater project:  With the hectic storm season last year and the one direct hit this year we have done and are doing additional survey out at the cut.(survey team is out there this week and now complete).  We have found as much as 300 ft of shoreline retreat down there.  With that in mind we are adjusting the final plans for the structures. Permit is on schedule. VERY pleased with progress. We believe we are still on target for 1 st  quarter of 2022 for bid and contracting.  Remember there is...

Lots going on that impacts our beach.  We didn't have as a bad hurricane season as last year which will help with the project for the jetty and breakwater project - but Nicholas did move the the start point again.  From Ernest Lawson who attends the commissioners meetings - " In this Monday’s Commissioners Court it was voted and passed that the County pay for another survey.  Pollard indicated this will take 4 days to complete the new survey.  The starting point at Mitchell’s cut is a moving target and was changed with Hurricane Nicholas.   The targeted start date is still January." AWESOME - we are getting close people - thank you Ernest for keeping track for us.  Beach Nourishment -  So they put in for the permit for beach nourishment but is it smaller than we were originally told.  It will go down to Mitchell's cut to the west but only up 1 mile to the east. Here is the Army Corps  link to the permit page - this was submitted October 2021...

  Friends of the River San Bernard   received a thank you from   Yu Zhang, Associate Professor, Dept. of Civil Engineering, UT Arlington   for writing a letter of support for his   CMP (Coastal Management Program)   project of the   San Bernard/Brazos River   flow and sediment dynamics. This letter, along with other letters of support, was forwarded to the   Texas General Land Office   and subsequently the project was selected for funding by  GLO . It is scheduled to begin next   January .     Excerpt from  Dr. Zhang's   “Assessing flow and sediment dynamics along lower Brazos and San Bernard Rivers to inform regional restoration  strategies . . .  direct economic impacts of the study will be four-fold.   1.  It will lead to a realistic appraisal of flooding risks along the lower  San Bernard River  after the reopening of the river mouth, which will help...