By Pam Nicholls, GSAC Board Member
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Collier Coastal Storm Risk Management (CSRM) project manager Abbe Preddy has encouraged homeowner associations worried about what next hurricane season might bring to take measures to protect their properties now.
The Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is running behind schedule in their $2.97m federally funded study to address coastal storm and flood damage reduction in Collier County. So confirmed Preddy, at a monthly meeting for stakeholders on December 4. A Tentatively Selected Plan (TSP), originally expected in September this year, would unlikely be concluded until sometime in March 2025. The new estimated date for the completion of the study has therefore been pushed forward to summer 2026.
Based on historic USACE studies, and even assuming the Collier CSRM feasibility study would have been completed as projected this August, the construction phase would have been unlikely to start before 2030 – 2035.
The study will determine the feasibility of potential measures the Corps can undertake with Collier County to improve resiliency and minimize damages from storms and surge on the developed coastal communities from Vanderbilt Beach to Marco Island.
This is a do-over of the original three-year, three-million-dollar study that began in 2018 but was never fully completed following backlash from the community and environmental agencies.
Preddy said they are currently in a six-week review of economic modelling “to make sure we are on the right track and our data is sound.”
Once they conclude the analysis of costs and benefits associated with the different alternatives being considered, such as various combinations of nonstructural measures and nature-based solutions, Preddy said they’d have a better idea of what a plan for the County would look like. Once it’s ready, it will be described in detail in a draft report that will be publicly released for comments and additional input.
Asked whether the Norfolk-based team had learned anything useful from recent storms Helene and Milton, Preddy replied that the hurricanes simply re-enforced the important role beaches have to play in managing risk. “They (beaches) are designed to fail. They are your first line of defense. They take the damage that didn’t make it to the structures behind them.”
Whatever the recommended plan turns out to be, “our study is not able to fully manage all storm risk,” said Preddy. “There are multiple lines of defense.”
She encouraged homeowner associations worried about what next hurricane season might bring to “do what is needed to protect their infrastructure.”
See more at https://colliercsrm-usacenao.hub.arcgis.com
