Hurricane-damaged Naples Pier finds new life as underwater reef

NAPLES, Fla. (WINK)—The City of Naples transformed more than 300 tons of demolished Naples Pier concrete into a new underwater reef about 10 miles offshore of Gordon Pass in the Gulf.

On April 24, the city, along with Pier rebuild contractors Shoreline Foundation Inc. and marine and environmental engineers Turrell, Hall & Associates, deployed 59 concrete pilings from the hurricane-damaged pier at the Wasmer Reef site.

The deployment marked a milestone in recovery efforts from Hurricane Ian and the rebuilding of the iconic Naples Pier.

Rather than sending the concrete to a landfill, the city exercised a reef deployment option. The deployment, made possible through a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers permit and overseen by Turrell, Hall & Associates, marks the eighth reef created within the Wasmer site.

The Wasmer Reef was first established in 2015 through a multi-agency collaboration funded by BP oil spill grants and private donations.

The reef, now more than a decade old, is thriving and hosts corals, aquatic vegetation, invertebrates, bivalves and tunicates that provide refuge and food for juvenile and mature fish species alike.

Dive teams confirmed site conditions before and after deployment to ensure full compliance with permit requirements. The Naples Pier pilings will join that legacy underwater ecosystem.

Remaining pier pilings not destined for the reef have also been diverted from the landfill. They have been delivered to a recycling facility, where they will be processed into recycled concrete aggregate for use in road construction.