Sediment Management Plan Development for the St. Lucie Inlet, Martin County, Florida

A comprehensive approach was used to evaluate recent changes to the St Lucie Inlet system and was used as the basis for the evaluating future sand transfer and shoreline stabilization projects associated with the region. The analysis relied extensively upon hydraulic, bathymetric, and coastal monitoring conducted over multiple years and dredging cycles to evaluate impacts upon the hydraulics of the St. Lucie Inlet and Estuary. The monitoring data was used to assess the effects of the impoundment basin dredging on tidal prism/circulation patterns, navigation, and shoaling patterns/sediment transport pathways. Analysis of coastal processes through the development of numerical modeling tools in the vicinity of the inlet provided baseline information for management decisions.