A consultant says the sand building up along the western end of Port Charlotte beach could eventually close the Sunrise Waterway. At the same time, says Coastal Engineering Consultants Vice President Michael Poff, shoreline is receding along the eastern edge. Poff says his company will recommend Chrlotte County invest more than a hallf-million dollars in a stopgap beach feeder and adopt a more permanent maintenance plan. The Sunrise Waterway has been dredged three times in the past 12 years – the most recent coming after Tropical Storm Fay in 2008, when there was recovery money available to help. Getting a permit to do so again could take two decades — time many agree the county doesn’t have if the waterway is to stay open.
