VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. – For hours on Saturday, News 6 got an up-close look as state-contracted crews in Daytona Beach Shores replaced a flood control system — Tiger Dams, in this case — with large sandbags.
The goal is to allow for more beach area to be open for turtle nesting season, which begins May 1, and to better address erosion concerns.
“This is able to meet both of those needs, help the homeowners and help the environment,” said Kevin Guthrie, director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management.
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Guthrie said the TrapBags — or large sandbags, if you will — are a more permanent solution. They’ll be replacing the orange tubes currently in place along several miles of the Volusia and Flagler county coastline.
“A 4 foot, 6 foot wave coming all the way into somebody’s property, that is not the best use of the flood control system. It’s going to be a much better system with these sandbags,” he said. “Absolutely, we don’t want any of the turtles to get caught behind the polyurethane tube.”
This comes after the flood control system was set up in November when hurricanes Ian and Nicole caused historic erosion, resulting in dozens of structures being deemed unsafe.
“We did have some locations where there were some natural breaks there. When you see this go in, it’ll be a solid wall of nothing but sandbags filled with sand,” Guthrie said.
This flood control system is now being preserved ahead of hurricane season, nine weeks away.
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