The 2004 and 2005 hurricane seasons brought strong onshore winds, storm surges, and large waves to Walton County's beaches. The most severe events, most notably Hurricane Ivan in 2004 and Tropical Storm Arlene and Dennis in 2005, caused sever erosion throughout the county. Following Hurricane Dennis, Taylor Engineering was directed to conduct a countywide analysis of post-storm conditions.

     To quantify the recent storm effects, Taylor Engineering utilized both mean high water shoreline changes and beach volume losses. From this data, they were able to not only identify beach and dune losses, but also begin the determination of shorefront risk and areas that needed beach restoration. All of this work built upon the 2003 Countywide Beach Management Feasibility Study and the main report is available in the pdf below. Additionally, the "Possible Restoration Areas" link listed below leads to a pdf of project areas that are being pursued for upcoming large scale beach restoration projects.

Walton County Post-Hurricane Beach Assessment, Shorefront Development Risk
Analysis, and Project Prioritization

Phase 2 Possible Beach Restoration Areas