• Where did the sand come from?

Sand was dredged from Canaveral Shoals. This is the same location that was used in the 2000 – 2003 beach nourishment project. Refer to the map found on the "Construction" page   for more information.

• Why does the color of the sand vary?

The newly-dredged sand initially looks a little different than the pre-project beach. Beachgoers might notice that the sand is slightly more coarse and gray; however, the new sand has met specific criteria mandated by the State of Florida for Brevard County’s beaches including grain size distribution, shell content, and color. Over a period of time the sun will bleach the sand until it is gradually closer to the color beachgoers are accustomed to seeing.

• How much sand was placed on the North and South Reaches?

Approximately 1,333,500 cubic yards of sand were placed on the North and South Reaches as a result of 2005 renourishment efforts.

• Why were parts of the North Reach skipped?

Those beaches did not suffer sufficient erosion damage from the storms to justify federal participation in the 2005 emergency renourishment project.

• When was the project finished?

Offshore dredging was halted on May 13th, 2005, and the final load of sand was emptied onto the beach north of the Canaveral Pier on May 14th.  Final tilling (necessary to loosen newly-placed sand in order to ease turtle nesting) was completed on the 17th of May.  All equipment was removed from the beach by May 19th.

• How did this project affect turtles?

Construction was scheduled to be completed before the main turtle nesting season that started on May 1st; but was extended to mid-May, with close attention paid to impacts of renourishment activities on nesting turtles. Daily early-morning monitoring by state-permitted turtle biologists began on March 1st in order to relocate any early nests to a safe location and/or limit reconstruction activities.