Seawall inspections in Fort Lauderdale

When to book an inspection

Book one when something changes, not only when something breaks.

• After a city citation or warning
• Before buying or selling a waterfront home
• After a hurricane or a run of king tides
• When you see new cracks, stains or sinkholes

King tides and street flooding

The City tells owners to inspect and maintain their seawalls, says walls overtopped by king tides should be raised to the 5 ft standard, and can cite owners whose walls let tidal water reach the street. A low spot or a leaking joint is a code issue here, not only a maintenance one.

An inspection report tells you which side of that line your wall sits on before a city notice does.[1][2]

Cap repairs and cap additions, priced

The same City material priced cap spall repair at $60 per cubic foot of epoxy mortar and adding a 12 in cap to an existing wall at $75 to $125 per linear foot (2016 figures). Whether an old wall can carry a taller cap is an engineering question, so a marine or structural engineer checks it first.

The report ranks repairs by cost so you can plan spending against those figures.[3]

5 ft NAVD88, with a path to 2050

New and substantially repaired tidal barriers in Fort Lauderdale must reach 5 ft NAVD88. A wall permitted before 1 January 2035 may be built at 4 ft NAVD88 if it is designed to be raised to 5 ft by 1 January 2050, which is how many owners spread the cost.

Every inspection records the cap elevation against that standard.[2]

River tide and inlet tide

NOAA's South Port Everglades gauge shows a 2.79 ft great diurnal range, while the Andrews Avenue bridge gauge up the New River shows 2.28 ft, with mean higher high water about 0.45 to 0.57 ft above NAVD 88 (1983 to 2001 epoch). Lifts and floating docks near the inlet need more travel than those up the river.

We inspect at the lowest tide of the week so the lower wall face and the toe are visible.[4][5]

What makes Fort Lauderdale different

The City treats seawalls as tidal barriers. It presumes a wall is in disrepair if it lets upland soil erode, lets material pass through it, or lets tidal water flow unimpeded onto neighbours or the street, and gives owners 60 days to show progress and 365 days to finish. The City also spends $1.5 million a year on its own seawalls.[2][1]

The county layer

Broward County requires a license before any work in, on, over or under its waters, including repairing or replacing a dock or seawall. Broward's regional policy is a consistent top elevation of 5 ft NAVD for seawalls, banks and berms.[6][2]

Permits in Fort Lauderdale

• Broward County environmental licensing: A county license before any work in, on, over or under Broward County waters, including dock and seawall repair.
• City of Fort Lauderdale: Building permits; waivers of the dock and lift projection limit go to the City Commission with a Marine Advisory Board recommendation.
• Florida DEP or South Florida Water Management District: State permit or exemption for docks and walls on the New River and the Intracoastal, on top of the Broward County license.
• US Army Corps of Engineers, Jacksonville District: Federal authorisation for work in the Intracoastal Waterway and other navigable waters.

What we check

We walk the full length of the wall from the land and the water.

• Cap: cracks, spalling, rust staining, height against the local standard
• Face and panels: cracks, open joints, lean
• Tiebacks and anchors: signs of movement
• Toe: scour or undercutting
• Land side: sinkholes, soft ground, weep holes

Who is responsible for a private seawall?

The property owner. Miami Beach requires owners to correct walls that let tidal water flow over or through them and can cite owners with no seawall at all. Fort Lauderdale presumes a wall is in disrepair if it lets upland soil erode, material pass through it, or tidal water flow onto neighbours or the street, and gives owners 60 days to show progress and 365 days to finish.[10][2]

Frequently asked questions