Engineers considering new 'living seawall' to protect Volusia County beaches

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Published  November 14, 2024 8:11pm EST
FOX 35 Orlando
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Engineers considering 'living seawall' in Volusia County

Researchers at Embry-Riddle University are working on something they’re calling a "living seawall." The civil engineer heading this project says normally, researchers come up with an idea, they create something, and they try to get it implemented in the community.

VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. - Researchers at Embry-Riddle University are working on something they’re calling a "living seawall." 

The civil engineer heading this project says normally, researchers come up with an idea, they create something, and they try to get it implemented in the community. This is a flipped format. They went to the community, asked what problems people thought needed solving, and came up with a solution.

In Volusia County, the problem is beach erosion. Construction just started this Fall repairing seawalls along A1A damaged during 2022’s storms.

Siddarth Parida, an Assistant Professor in Civil Engineering at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, believes the living seawall will be a more sustainable solution to protect Volusia County’s beaches. 

"I think, and if it was not challenging, it wouldn't be fun," said Parida. 

Typical seawalls are built from concrete or metal.

This team’s proposal is to still include a concrete seawall, bolstered with boulders in front, and with vegetation that helps trap sand, and helps keep it in place with sturdy root systems.

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"Building seawalls actually affects marine life, actually affects sea turtle nesting and all those things," said Parida. "We want to make sure that having this vegetation, having these sand dunes, does not harm our environment."

The team is an assembly of people from Embry-Riddle, Bethune Cookman, the University of Central Florida, and other agencies. They submitted an idea to the National Science Foundation’s Civic Innovation Challenge.

That coalition is one of 52 applicants – and the only one in Florida – to have been approved for Stage 1, which is a planning stage.

They hope that plan will win them access to a $1 million grant that lets them enter Stage 2. 

"We are proposing that it would be both structurally stable and also aesthetically pleasing, and might help prevent erosion," said Parida. 

The researchers are having a community workshop where people can weigh in and bring up their own thoughts and ideas for the project. 

That’s next Wednesday, November 20th.

It’s at the Ponce Inlet Community Center at 5:30 p.m.

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