This ensuing article is the second piece of the Upham Beach series, the first being: "The Battle of Upham Beach: Groins - not just a pain in the pass".
In understanding the irony of the situation: Upham is a feeder beach, meaning sand transports from Upham’s land mass southerly from Sunset Beach, according to the beach biodiversity, and Sunset gets its sand from Sunshine Beach.
The solution the county implemented to keep Upham Beach from eroding involved trapping sand on the beach – but not all of it. Logic dictates more sand will be needed for the southern beaches since the feeding will now be slowed. The original problem lies in Upham not receiving the north-south flow of sand, due to the Blind Pass involvement. Additionally, the experiment does not address the main issue: sand transportation. Taxpayers will spend (and have already spent) millions of dollars on a rock structure (the T-groins). Most importantly, the structure will still require sand placement in order for the beach to function appropriately to Mother Nature’s standards. In analyzing the experiment, every rock, stone, and marble was virtually unturned. However, Pinellas County staffers continuously claim the 5 T-Groin structures save 38% more sand than without the use of them.
During the process of the implementation of the temporary structures at Upham Beach, the following occurred:
