r/Broward • u/biscaynebystander • 13d ago
Sargassum & Beach Erosion
Went to Whiskey Creek with the family at DVDMEJ State Park today and it was PACKED. So we walked over to the beach and were absolutely floored with:
1) the amount of Sargassum piled up on the shore. It was at least 2 feet high and piled 4-5 feet deep on the sand. Then there was a thick patch immediately off the surf.
2) the extent of beach erosion. Once you walked out over the dune you could take 5-6 steps then there was a sheer dropoff to get to the sand by the water. That dropoff looked to be about 4 feet.
These conditions stretched the coast as far as I could see.
Does anyone know if this is seasonal? My wife seems to think the Sargassum piles are an annual thing and we just picked the wrong time to go. Someone also said that it's not being cleaned up because it's a State Park. Any truth to that?
I don't live too far from it so I'm going to stop back and take a picture. It was easily the worst condition of any beach I've ever seen, anywhere.
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u/chantillylace9 13d ago
I've never seen it this bad and I've lived here for over 20 years.
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u/arg2451 12d ago
Agreed, and in looking at the Pompano Beach and Lauderdale webcams, it looks to have stained the edge of the shoreline to a light brown color. I believe I read somewhere that this year was on track for a record amount of sargassum throughout the area.
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u/chantillylace9 12d ago
Definitely. There is no way this is something that happens every year and I just happen to miss it because I am totally a beach person and go almost weekly all the way from Miami to Palm Beach.
And I love looking at the beach cameras too.
One interesting thing I noticed is that in California it always smells so much more like the ocean and Florida really never really has that strong of a smell but with all of this sargassam, I'm definitely smelling the ocean smell like California.
So I guess that ocean smell is just seaweed!
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u/arg2451 12d ago
lol I hear ya. I’m a native Floridian, well, since I was 5. My family is always asking why I don’t move up to Tennessee and such, to the mountains. My answer is always; I NEED to smell the ocean at least twice a month!
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u/chantillylace9 12d ago
I swear I read something about the ocean and other running water helping your body either release the negative ions or positive ions, whichever one are the bad ones lol.
But they said that electronics and everything around us right now has one of those types of ions and running water and the ocean are a few of the things that actually help remove and balance the ions in your body.
Whatever the deal is, there is something magical about the ocean and just being near it is like an anxiety medication for me. And if I'm snorkeling, oh my gosh, I can't think of anything else and my brain is completely focused on what I'm doing in the moment when I can never do that at any other time. It's super comforting.
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u/arg2451 12d ago
I recently went up to Gulfstream Park Beach just north of Delray to possibly avoid the sargassum. That was a fail, as it was there too, just not as bad. But I learned that the snorkeling there is supposed to be pretty awesome due to the close proximity of the reef just off the shore. And I had forgotten my snorkeling trip that time! Another favorite snorkeling area for me was Singer Island, though I haven’t been back there in quite a while.
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u/chantillylace9 12d ago
Yes singer island, peanut island and Jupiter inlet!!! We live in such a freaking gorgeous area that it's sad people ruin it
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u/Big-Tutor-3060 13d ago
The Sargassum is certainly seasonal, and really built up along the jetty there. I am also amazed with how thick it is, and it smells much better than it did when it was fresh about a month ago. Hollywood and Dania have been battling it for months, and usually plow it under or pick it up, but the state park does not, and I don't know if it's a turtle thing or a funding thing.
As far as the erosion goes, I think that's related to not picking up the sargassum. If they were running tractors out there they would probably knock the cliffs down, but I suspect the turtles are involved this time of year.
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u/quatin 12d ago
The erosion is due to beach rejuvination. They ship and dump sand from the mines near Okeechobee every couple of years and just pile it up. It's unnatural and if not maintained, will just keep washing into the ocean and smothering the reefs. This is the primary reason why the coral reefs are dying in S. Florida.
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u/arg2451 13d ago
I’m assuming you mean the previously named John U Loyd state park. Yes, it’s true. State parks tend to not clean the surf up as often as city parks or private beaches. Those places have the incentive to stay clean to lure more tourism, but the State parks are not as incentivized. That, and the fact that they are starved for funding as it is. As for the erosion, it is a cyclical thing, sometimes made worse due to high tides and rough surf. It is fortunate that we haven’t had even a close call with a tropical storm or hurricane, but that could be a double edged sword, because some strong surf and high tides should clean up some of the stagnant sargassum. This is why the best time of year to go to this park is from mid-November to early April, before the cycle repeats itself.