Projects
Infrastructure Protection in Sarasota County, Florida
Project Information
Date: May 13, 2014
Location: Sarasota County, Florida
Project Summary
Similar to many coastal counties on the Gulf Coast of Florida, Sarasota County has been experiencing increasingly extreme shoreline erosion.
In 2018, the issue became dire as an essential water main was exposed to the elements due to erosion. It was evident that the county needed a solution—and they needed it quickly. If not taken care of swiftly, the residents in the area would lose the only road that allowed them to access their homes.
TrapBag to the Rescue
As a short-term solution to protect the water main and residential road, the county turned to TrapBag. To solve the immediate issue and prevent any further damage, in 2018, our team installed 150 linear feet of an 8-foot-tall TrapBag System where the water main was exposed. This protected the water main from further exposure and reinforced the surrounding area. This project was so effective that it won the Storm Water Solutions – Top Project of 2018 award.
The Longevity of TrapBag Barriers
The 2018 installation of TrapBags in this area was intended to be a short-term solution, ideally to prevent damage for at least a year. This would give the county some additional time to find a more long-term fix to the erosion.
Now, five years after the installation, the original TrapBags are still standing. The bags have survived Hurricane Michael, Hurricane Ian, and many other tropical storms over the years. Although we don’t recommend keeping TrapBags in place that long without replacement, this project is a trusted testament to the longevity and durability of our product.
TrapBag Additions to the Original Project
Over the five years, the TrapBags that were installed in Sarasota County have taken quite the beating. In a recent storm, some of the TrapBags were overtopped by wave action, causing some of the bags on the top row to roll forward. This compromised the strength of the erosion control efforts, confirming that it was time for repairs.
Our team made a visit to Sarasota County to extend and repair the original TrapBag system. To do so, we added an additional 300 linear feet of TrapBags along the beach. We also added add 2 more rows of TrapBags on top of the original 8ft tall TrapBag system, giving them 12ft of height protection.
To take the protection a step further, when the new TrapBags were installed they were also wrapped in a geo grid to help prevent the TrapBags from rolling forward during heavy wave action. The geogrid runs underneath, up the front, over the top, and then buried back behind the TrapBags to help anchor it in.
Updates after Hurricane Debby:
Hurricane Debby battered Sarasota, as well as many other areas of Florida. We received a note that our recent installation remained intact through the storm and served its intent—preserving the shoreline and protecting the area’s people and critical infrastructure. The images above speak for themselves.
Originally posted on: ABC 7 - Sarasota