Environment & Weather

Wider Beaches Planned in Delray Alongside Upcoming Federal Replenishment Effort

by
Daniel Nee
June 25, 2025

Delray Beach officials have hatched a deal with Palm Beach County to fund the local share of the cost of a beach renourishment project that is slated to begin late this fall or early next winter, with the city seeking to go above and beyond with its own replenishment effort to widen beaches and protect against future storms.

After an initial replenishment project completed in 2020 by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, a 50-year beach maintenance plan called for renourishments approximately every six to seven years, or after significant storms. Locally, the initial replenishment effort focused on a number of key swaths of oceanfront: Jupiter, Ocean Ridge, Delray Beach and North Boca. In a survey conducted by the Army Corps last year, Delray Beach and Ocean Ridge were determined to be in need of the periodic renouruishment, while the Jupiter and North Boca portions of the work area were found to have maintained a beach and dune size that does not require any new work.

The Delray Beach oceanfront, June 2025. (Photo: Boca Daily News)

The additional sand placement is estimated to cost approximately $18 million, which will be shared between the federal government, the state Department of Environmental Protection, and local government. In the case of Delray Beach, the local share will be covered by a combination of funding from Palm Beach County and the city. Last week, Delray Beach officials approved a resolution accepting a cost share agreement with Palm Beach County that calls for the county to fund 20 percent of the city’s share, in addition to the 50 percent of the total project cost covered by the state. In all, Delray Beach will fund $5.4 million worth of the project.

According to city officials, the Army Corps’ storm repair project is scheduled for the late fall or early winter season – after the 2025 sea turtle nesting season ends October 31, 2025, and before the 2026 sea turtle nesting season starts March 1, 2026.

The federal project will add approximately 450,000 cubic yards of sand, while Delray Beach is planning to complete a fully permitted “template beach repair” adding an additional 750,000 cubic yards of advanced fill sand to provide additional storm protection and widen its recreational beaches.

The Delray Beach oceanfront, June 2025. (Photo: Boca Daily News)

Since the initial 2020 project, Delray Beach experienced sand losses during the 2022 hurricane season, primarily associated with Hurricanes Ian and Nicole. Following the storm season, the counter requested the Army Corps evaluate and repair damages from the storms, which led to the federal agency recommending a renourishment project. The project extends the beach berm (the portion of the sand on which sunbathers place their chairs and blankets) to a width of about 200-feet, while shoring up portions of the protective dune that have been eroded by waves during storms. The project is specifically tailored for each municipality, with sand that matches the grain quality already present on the beach, and a uniform width that can wax and wane with the natural contours of the coastline.

Sand is pumped onshore from a donor site on the bottom of the ocean that has been determined to contain the proper quality through a network of pipes, then spread by heavy equipment on the shore. Bulldozers expand the dune line where needed and grade the beach berm at a pre-determined angle. It is expected that, over time, the beach berm will naturally get smaller as some sand is washed out into the ocean where it forms a protective berm that attenuates wave action as an extra way to mitigate storm damage.

The Delray Beach oceanfront, June 2025. (Photo: Boca Daily News)

According to the Army Corps, a bid solicitation for the project is expected to be released this summer, with contracts set to be awarded in September or October of this year. Generally, two dredging companies – Great Lakes Dredge and Dock, and Weeks Marine – vie for federal contracts to perform replenishment projects on the east coast.

The last replenishment project in Delray Beach added 365,000 cubic yards of sand to the beachfront, whereas the upcoming project will more than triple that amount, inclusive of the city’s extra 750,000 cubic yard input above the federal government’s 450,000 cubic yards.