Surveyors look for beach erosion on Sanibel after Irma

SANIBEL, Fla. Hurricane Irma created substantial damage across much of Southwest Florida, but the beaches in Sanibel seem untouched.

The city of Sanibel hired a team of surveyors from the east coast to take beach erosion measurements after Hurricane Irma.

“They’re going to give us a profile from the dunes all the way down into beneath the water’s surface so we can see the slope of the beach, how it tapers out beneath the water’s surface and how far all the way out to half a mile from shore,” Sanibel Public Works Director Keith Williams said.

Williams believes Sanibel beaches may have slightly benefited from the storm.

“It might have actually increased the size of our beaches,” he said.

The surveyors will use data collected over the next three weeks to make decisions on how to improve the beaches in the years to come.

“We’ll evaluate and see if there’s any kind of need for nourishment or immediate action and in most cases there won’t be,” Williams said.

The data collected could also help surveyors notice patterns on sandbars or troughs forming or disappearing.

“I think nature’s got a way to do beautiful things and that’s what we’re here for, to accept the changes,” beachgoer Maria Lomonaco said.

The city hires surveyors every other year and after major storms.