Palm Beach Inlet to be dredged soon

PALM BEACH -- The federal government plans to dredge the Palm Beach Inlet this fall and place the sand on the North End shore.

The Palm Beach Town Council last week approved a waiver so the work can exceed operating hours and dates as well as noise levels normally allowed by the town.

Dredging could begin as early as Nov. 1 and is expected to last for a few weeks, into December.

A contractor to be hired by the Corps will operate marine and shore-based equipment 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

The town normally prohibits operation of machinery during the winter, Sundays and legal holidays, and between the hours of 5 p.m. and 8 a.m.

The good news for beachfront owners is that the sand will be deposited on the “dry beach” — the portion west of the mean high water line — between the inlet and Palmo Way.

Coastal Program Manager Rob Weber said he expects about 150,000 cubic yards of sand to go onto the town shore. One cubic yard of sand weighs up to a ton and a half and will cover 80 to 100 square feet in a layer about 2 inches deep.

The sand, which is free to the town, means better storm protection for upland properties.

The Corps is responsible for maintaining the inlet’s navigation channel, and performs the dredging every two years on average.

The work was last done in January 2018, when the Corps deposited nearly 200,000 cubic yards of inlet sand on town beaches between the inlet and Ocean Terrace in Reach 2.