Pilot program involving pumping system proposed in the interim
State law forbids the opening of new inlets — and a restored Midnight Pass on Siesta Key would be considered a new inlet — the Sarasota County commissioners heard from a consultant this week.
Thus, in their ongoing effort to restore a tidal connection between the Gulf of Mexico and Little Sarasota Bay, they unanimously directed county administrative staff to work with the county’s legislative lobbyist, community residents, and the members of the Sarasota County Legislative Delegation on the crafting of a change in state law to eliminate the new inlet restriction.
The next legislative session will begin on March 4, 2025. However, as The News Service of Florida has reported, committees of both the House and the Senate will begin meeting in December.
Commissioner Joe Neunder, who has advocated for the restoration of a south Siesta Key tidal connection as one of his top priorities since his 2022 election to the board, made the Sept. 10 motion. Commissioner Neil Rainford seconded it.
Noting that the 2024 Legislature approved a $500,000 grant to the county to use in working toward a tidal exchange between Little Sarasota Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, and Gov. Ron DeSantis did not veto the funds, Rainford said, “I think we have the political capital to continue [the effort to create that].”
“I couldn’t agree more,” Commissioner Mark Smith added.
“We do have the need for sand” for beach renourishment initiatives, Smith pointed out, so re-establishing a Gulf-to-bay channel on south Siesta Key could serve as a source for the sand. Casey Key, especially, could benefit from that new source, Smith said.
Neunder represents south Siesta as part of his District 4 territory, while Smith is the commissioner for District 2, which contains the northern part of the barrier island.
In the meantime, a consultant hired by the county to assist with the board initiative suggested that the commissioners concurrently could pursue research into the use of a pumping system to create a flow from the Gulf to Little Sarasota Bay. Mike Jenkins, a professional engineer with Applied Technology and Management (ATM), headquartered in Gainesville, said the goal would be to bring cleaner water into Little Sarasota Bay, “to reduce the nutrients [that feed harmful algae] and increase the salinity back to something that’s more amenable to the environment.”
Referring to an option that David Tomasko, executive director of the Sarasota Bay Estuary Program, discussed with the board in April 2023, Jenkins did not recommend constructing a culvert between Little Sarasota Bay and the Gulf. “The challenge with that starts with physics,” he said. “There just isn’t enough force to keep that inlet open if you just do something small.”
Returning to the pump option, Jenkins pointed out, “In Florida, we have a longhistory of pumping water.” The implementation of such a system on south Siesta Key, he added, “is both feasible and permittable …”
In response to a question from Commissioner Rainford, Jenkins said that further research — as part of the second phase of the county’s feasibility study on the Little Sarasota Bay initiative — would be needed to determine how big a pump would be necessary and where it should be placed.
However, showing the commissioners a map, Jenkins pointed to the dead end of a canal on Siesta Key, within Turtle Beach Park. He suggested that that would be a potential site for the pump, as “You could easily pump in water across the park … and potentially flush some of that dead water [out of Little Sarasota Bay].”
Commissioner Ron Cutsinger asked for clarification that Jenkins was referring to pumping water just from the Gulf into the bay, instead of “pumping water back and forth?”
Jenkins replied that that was correct. Pumping in water from the Gulf, he added, would “end up with a net push out to the other inlets,” referring to Venice Inlet and Big Sarasota Pass.
A pilot project could be pursued, Jenkins said, which would be less expensive than proceeding with a long-term system. The county could rent a pump to determine whether that option would work, he added. Using the pump “would help us test the ability to determine the magnitude … of water exchange relative to the benefit.”
Moreover, Jenkins pointed out, “It is not contrary to a larger … discussion regarding an inlet.”
When Cutsinger asked whether the data produced by such a pilot project could facilitate the board’s efforts to change state law, Jenkins replied, “You are correct.”
However, when Cutsinger asked Jenkins whether Jenkins is familiar with a pumping system, as proposed, in any other area of the state, Jenkins said he was not.
“Why are we so sure about trying this pilot program?” Commissioner Rainford asked.
“I would not use the term ‘so sure,’ ” Jenkins responded. “It needs to be reality-tested.”
Jenkins added, “Your intent here is to have a very focused pumping of water. … You’re not trying to match the tides.”
Commissioner Smith noted that he was “very leery of the pump idea,” as such a system would have to be maintained in perpetuity. A natural tidal connection, Smith added, “would be the best solution in the long run.”
‘It stinks!’
During his presentation, which was part of the regular commission meeting on Sept. 10 in Sarasota, Jenkins discussed the facets of the first phase of a $75,000 feasibility study regarding the potential reopening of Midnight Pass, which has been closed since 1983.
Public Works Director Spencer Anderson noted that Jenkins has long-term expertise in Florida issues — especially on the west coast.
Jenkins talked of the “high-profile history” of Midnight Pass. ATM acknowledges that “people have strong opinions [about it],” Jenkins told the commissioners.
By count of The Sarasota News Leader, nine people appeared before the board members during the Open to the Public comment period that morning, pleading with them to achieve the reopening of the pass. Two talked of the odor emanating from Little Sarasota Bay. “It stinks!” was how Randy Reid described the situation.
Several called the closing of the pass “an environmental disaster.”
Douglas Dykeman pointed out, “Little Sarasota Bay is filthy. … It needs to be flushed out.”
He, like the others, urged the commissioners to act. “Don’t sandbag it,” Dykeman added of an effort to restore the waterway. “Don’t stonewall it. Make it happen.”
Michael Evanoff, chair of the nonprofit Restore Midnight Pass Now!! Was the first to call on the board members to work with the Sarasota County Legislative Delegation on state action.
Initially, after the pass was closed manually, Jenkins pointed out during his remarks, the water quality in Little Sarasota Bay declined. However, the long-term trend that has been observed, he continued, is that conditions “are generally getting better.”
The problems that do occur, he said, are mostly what he characterized as “episodic,” such as the low oxygen levels recorded after Tropical Storm Debby dumped more than 18 inches of rain in some areas of the county in early August, and salinity stratification. Usually, those occur after hurricanes and other heavy rain events, he said.
Physics, permitting and history
One big question for the first phase of the county’s feasibility study, Jenkins noted, was whether the board members wished to reopen Midnight Pass to improve water quality in Little Sarasota Bay, or whether the focus really would be on providing a new option for a navigable channel into the Gulf.
Turning to physics, Jenkins explained that, to remain open, inlets rely on the difference in water levels that drive currents. Without sufficient velocity of flow through an inlet, he continued, “It’ll close.” The velocity/water volume factor is referred to as a “tidal prism,” he added. “The tidal prism that Midnight Pass used to have has been taken up by the adjacent [inlets].” If a new inlet were created, Jenkins continued, “It would be taking that tidal prism back from either Venice [Inlet] or Big Sarasota Pass.”
“Most inlets in Southwest Florida are quasi-stable,” Jenkins pointed out, except for the really big ones. That means “they tend to want to close,” he said. The primary reason those stay open, he added, is because of action taken to keep them open, such as maintenance dredging or the construction of jetties.
“The biggest issue regarding a coastal inlet,” Jenkins emphasized, is regulatory. … The bar is high for new projects in the coastal zone.”
Further, “Mitigation for resources, particularly seagrass,” he added, “is really, really hard to do … and it’s very expensive.”
Seagrasses generally are destroyed when a new inlet is created, he noted. Yet, Jenkins pointed out, they are “critical habitat” for sea life.
“It’s also worth noting,” Jenkins pointed out, that FDEP has designated the beaches to the north and south of the former site of Midnight Pass as “critically eroded. … Inlets compete with beaches for sand,” he added. Florida state law also requires mitigation for that issue, Jenkins told the commissioners.
To re-establish Midnight Pass, he continued, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) would have to issue a permit first, and then the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers would have to issue a permit.
He then explained the past county efforts to open the pass, with FDEP denying a permit in 1990, which resulted in a county challenge in the Florida Division of Administrative Hearings (DOAH); ultimately the DOAH judge agreed with the denial.
Then, when the county undertook a second effort, that ended in December 2008 with FDEP issuing a formal notice of its intent to deny the permit, and county leaders agreeing to withdraw the permit.