Venice Artificial Reef (Client: City of Venice, FL) In 1997, to mitigate the impacts of the City of Venice 3.9 mile beach restoration project upon the region’s nearshore hardbottom, a productive biological natural resource, Coastal Tech designed, permitted, and provided construction phase services for creation of a 1.8 acre artificial reef. Improvements to the City’s stormwater management system made extensive quantities of concrete materials (7131 tons) available for reef construction. In conjunction with preparation of the plans and specifications for this project, the reef design was

A two year comprehensive monitoring program documented the colonization of the artificial reef. Based upon the monitoring reports, the concrete culverts that composed the reef were encrusted with macroalgae, barnacles, hydroids, sponges, and ascidians. Motile invertebrates such as sea stars, sea cucumbers, sea urchins, and stone crabs were observed on or near the culverts. Fishes, invertebrates, and algae associated with the reef at the one and two- year stage of development represented nearshore biota expected for this region of southwestern Florida. In 2007, Coastal Tech will again provide design, permitting and construction phase services, only this time it will be for a 7.3 acre mitigation reef required by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) permit for re-nourishment of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Shore Protection Project. As part of the conceptual and preliminary design, Coastal Tech will obtain jet probes which will provide a basis for delineation of potential reef placement areas where an appropriate layer of sediment exists over rock substrate to allow for settlement and continued exposure of the placed boulders. A drawing will be prepared showing (a) existing hardbottom as previously identified, (b) bathymetry as previously surveyed, (c) water depths at the time of jet probes, and (d) probe depths reflecting depth of sediment to rock substrate or to maximum penetration.