Dredging is helping to widen beach in Jupiter
Jupiter Inlet getting deeper; project will end next week.
JUPITER — Jupiter Beach Park is getting wider and the Jupiter Inlet is getting deeper.
That 200-foot-long dredge boat in the inlet offff DuBois Park is pulling up about 74,000 cubic yards of sand — about 4,100 dump truck loads — from the bottom of the inlet. Dredging the Jupiter Inlet during the winter is a regular procedure to give boaters passage to and from the Atlantic Ocean.
When complete next week, the channel that boaters use to travel in and out of the inlet will be about 20 feet deep, according to Mike Grella, executive director of the Jupiter Inlet District, the taxing authority paying for the project. Cost for the project is about $650,000.
“Regular dredging of the sand trap is done to keep the inlet open for boats,” said Grella.
Loggerhead Marinelife Center officials are monitoring the project since the dredging comes during the March 1-Oct. 31 sea turtle nesting season. Last year was a banner year for nests.
The sand is pumped from a manmade sand trap, which captures the sand that flflows into the Inlet. The sand trap is about 1,100 feet long and about 200 feet wide.
The sand is pumped through a hydraulic hose to Jupiter Beach Park, south of the Ocean Trail condominium. The sand is spread out to make the beach higher and wider.
The JID maintains the Jupiter Inlet and the Loxahatchee River and the northern portion of Jupiter Beach Park. The JID also operates a live webcam from the top of the Ocean Trail Condominium.
Dredging the inlet is usually done on an annual basis, said Grella. The job is being done by Pompano Beach-based Cavache Inc. The price varies depending on the amount of sand that is removed.
Hurricane Sandy’s powerful winds in 2012 brought an extra amount of sand into the inlet. About 70,000 cubic yards were dredged. The price that year was about $930,000.
Building up beaches in big business in Palm Beach County.
Federal, state, county and local dol-