When a king tide flows over or through a seawall, cities treat it as a problem the owner must fix: Miami Beach can cite owners and give them 60 days to show progress and 730 days to finish, and Fort Lauderdale presumes a wall is in disrepair if tidal water flows through it onto neighbours or the street.
Why king tides show up the weak walls
The highest tides of the year find the low spots and open joints. Water flowing over a cap, or bubbling up through a joint, tells you the wall is too low or leaking.
How cities respond
- Miami Beach: walls that let tidal water flow over or through them must be corrected by raising the wall or adding a retaining wall, and owners with no seawall can be cited too. After a citation: 10 days to appeal, 60 days to show progress, 730 days to finish, fines of $250 and then $500 per day.[1]
- Fort Lauderdale: a wall is presumed in disrepair if it lets soil erode, material pass through, or tidal water flow onto neighbours or the street; owners get 60 days to show progress and 365 days to finish. The City asks owners to build new seawalls to at least 5 ft.[2][3]
What to do before the next king tide
- Walk the wall at the next very low tide and note cracks, joints and sinkholes.
- Watch the wall at the next high tide and note where water comes over or through.
- Get the problem spots repaired; many small repairs are DERM-exempt in Miami-Dade.[4]
- If water comes over the cap, plan a raise to your city's standard.
Seawalls are not the only path
Miami Beach notes that groundwater rises through porous bedrock, so a seawall cannot stop all flooding.[5] Pair the wall with flood protection where it matters.
See seawall raising and the Miami Beach seawall ordinance.
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Sources
- Seawall FAQs (Miami Beach Rising Above, PDF dated 6.16.25), City of Miami Beach. Accessed October 27, 2026.
- Staff Report, Planning and Zoning Board, 16 Nov 2022, Case UDP-T22010 (Tidal barrier / seawall ordinance amendment, ULDR 47-19.3), City of Fort Lauderdale. Accessed October 27, 2026.
- King Tides and High Tides, City of Fort Lauderdale. Accessed October 27, 2026.
- Class I Permit Application for Coastal Construction and Mangrove Trimming within Miami-Dade County (Revised May 2025), Miami-Dade County RER, Division of Environmental Resources Management (DERM), Coastal Resources Section. Accessed October 27, 2026.
- Rising Above the Risk: Frequently Asked Questions (05/05/2017), City of Miami Beach. Accessed October 27, 2026.
