Seawall & Bulkhead Help in Southeast Florida

How Southeast Florida Shorelines Differ

Many Southeast Florida seawalls face protected tidal water rather than open ocean: Biscayne Bay, the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway, Lake Worth Lagoon and the residential canals connected to them. Miami Beach alone reports about 55 miles of seawall, all but about 5 miles privately held, and Boca Raton reports 77.18 miles of canals and lakes.

That water is rising. The tidal flood ordinance text Broward County considered in 2020 states that sea level rise is increasing the frequency, depth and extent of tidal flooding, and that seawalls below rising water levels let water reach neighboring properties. That reasoning sits behind the minimum seawall heights Broward and several nearby cities now set, and it is why a structurally sound wall can still be too low.

State aquatic preserves cover parts of the region. DEP describes Biscayne Bay Aquatic Preserve as running the length of the bay from the headwaters of the Oleta River south to Card Sound and lists it as Outstanding Florida Waters. To the north, DEP says the towns of Jupiter and Tequesta border the Loxahatchee River-Lake Worth Creek Aquatic Preserve, most of which lies in northern Palm Beach County. Work in or next to a preserve can face added state review.

Seawall Height Rules by City and County

Height rules here are written in feet above a fixed survey datum, the North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD88; Miami Beach's release says NAVD), not feet above your yard or the water. A surveyor can tell you where your existing cap sits on that scale. These are the rules we could read in official documents.

Repair Deadlines and Nuisance Rules

Several codes make a leaking or overtopped wall the owner's problem. Under Broward County's ordinance text, which Fort Lauderdale's 2023 ordinance follows closely, a tidal flood barrier is presumed in disrepair if tidal water flows through or over it onto adjacent property or the public right-of-way. A cited owner must show progress within 60 days and finish repairs within 365 days, and a substantial repair must meet the minimum elevation. The Fort Lauderdale page walks through one city's version in detail.

In Broward's text, substantial means work along more than half of the property's shoreline, or an attached structure such as a dock costing more than half as much as a barrier along that shoreline. Miami Beach gives owners up to 730 days to bring a failing seawall into compliance, with fines of $250 a day for a first offense and $500 a day after that, according to the city. Broward's text and Fort Lauderdale's ordinance also require a tidal flooding disclosure in contracts to sell property in tidally influenced areas.

Who Reviews Seawall Work in Each County

• Miami-Dade: Section 24-48 of the county code requires a Class I permit for work in, on, over or upon tidal waters or coastal wetlands, including inside cities. The county's May 2025 package lists sealing cracks and spall repair on a cap or face, and backfilling behind an existing wall, as exempt, and cap or tieback repairs can receive expedited authorization when structurally approved plans are submitted. Ordinance 25-73, adopted July 1, 2025, revised short form eligibility for seawalls and set review timelines.
• Broward: Lighthouse Point's dock and seawall checklist, for example, lists outside approvals from Broward County, DEP or the Army Corps of Engineers among the items for a city permit, so ask early which of those your job needs.
• Palm Beach: DEP's Southeast District office in West Palm Beach covers Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade counties, and Boca Raton's dock and seawall checklist asks for Army Corps of Engineers approval.
• State law: section 403.813(1)(e), Florida Statutes (opens in a new tab) exempts restoring a seawall at its previous location or within 18 inches waterward of it from certain state permits. It does not remove county or city requirements.
• Federal: the Corps' State Programmatic General Permit (SPGP VI) (opens in a new tab), used for many minor shoreline projects, states an expiration date of July 27, 2026, so ask how federal authorization is being handled now.
• Manatees: FWC lists approved manatee protection plans for Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties, which agencies use when reviewing permit applications for new or expanding boat facilities.

What the Official Storm Record Shows

The National Hurricane Center's reports describe water levels and damage but do not count seawall failures. In Hurricane Irma (2017), surge and tide produced 4 to 6 feet of inundation above ground in parts of Miami-Dade, especially along Biscayne Bay, and 2 to 4 feet across coastal northern Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach. NHC attributed part of the downtown Miami flooding to wave overwash becoming trapped behind seawalls and seawater rising through the drainage system.

Nicole produced 1 to 3 feet of inundation along the southeast coast, and NHC says minor surge impacts reached as far south as Miami, where elevated water caused nuisance street flooding in beach communities. Some readings above are in NAVD88 and others in feet above Mean Higher High Water (MHHW). Do not mix them, and treat a single sensor reading as a snapshot, not a design height.

Notes on Other Communities

• Miami: NOAA soil sampling described in NHC's Irma report suggests saltwater flooding in downtown Miami was largely confined within a block or two of Biscayne Bay. We could not verify a current City of Miami seawall elevation standard.
• Key Biscayne: soil samples taken up to a block from the coast on Key Biscayne after Irma were moderately saline. Miami-Dade's Class I permit applies to tidal work in every municipality in the county.
• Coral Gables: Resolution 2025-342, adopted September 10, 2025, directed city staff to create a 20 percent city permit fee discount for qualifying living seawall or modular retrofit panel installations. It does not reduce Miami-Dade County or state fees.
• Hollywood: Fort Lauderdale staff listed Hollywood in 2023 among the Broward cities that had adopted the regional standard. The city's draft ordinance (opens in a new tab) creating Code Section 150.30 used 5 feet NAVD88 with the 2035 interim option and called for re-evaluating the 5-foot standard in 2034 or before. We could not confirm the adopted ordinance number or date, so check the current code with the city.
• Pompano Beach: listed by Fort Lauderdale staff in 2023 among the Broward cities that had adopted the regional flood barrier standard.
• Lighthouse Point: the city's checklist requires an updated dock or seawall survey showing the seawall height before final inspection.
• Delray Beach: in April 2026 the City Commission considered a waiver request to build a seawall above a Lake Ida lot's base flood elevation, which the city's height table sets as the maximum.
• West Palm Beach, Palm Beach, Jupiter and Tequesta: we could not verify local seawall elevation rules for this guide. Ask each building department directly.

Grants and Permit Fee Incentives

Some cities now help with the bill. Miami Beach's Private Property Adaptation program offers reimbursement grants of up to $20,000 per property for seawall improvements, according to a city release dated October 6, 2026 (see the Miami Beach page). Fort Lauderdale adopted a Living Seawall Permit Fee Assistance Program in May 2026 that discounts the city's base building permit fee, up to a cap, for qualifying living seawalls raised to the city standard (see the Fort Lauderdale page). Coral Gables directed staff in 2025 to set up its 20 percent living seawall discount. Programs open and close, so confirm current terms with each city.

How to Check a Contractor Before You Sign

How Florida Bulk Head Handles Southeast Florida Inquiries

Florida Bulk Head is building a network of licensed regional marine contractors, and no participating contractor is confirmed in Southeast Florida yet. We accept project inquiries from Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties and connect owners with a qualified participating contractor when one is available, subject to availability. Barefoot Marine Construction, which owns Florida Bulk Head, works in Northeast Florida and does not perform work in this region.

Send photos, your current cap elevation if you know it, the wall length and what you are seeing, and we will tell you plainly whether a match is possible. The Seawall Health Check helps you document conditions, and the lead-sharing disclosure explains how information is shared.