Boca Inlet (Mostly) Clear As Dredging Fights Sand Pileup

Extreme shoaling along the north jetty of Boca Raton Inlet has been mostly removed by a city-owned dredge boat this week, following a series of storms at the end of September which were immediately followed by a “king tide” earlier this month. The buildup of sand caused a stir on social media, where drone photos showed nearly half the inlet lacking any depth, and some people even walking in what would normally be a navigable waterway.

Throughout the week, crews worked on various portions of the inlet with a hydraulic dredge owned by the city. The sand was being pumped through a network of pipes to the usual discharge area on the south side of the inlet, where a “cliff” had formed due to the water pressure. Sand pumped from the bottom of the inlet was needed near the south jetty, where waves flowed over the rocks and eroded the beach.

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Boca Raton Inlet is dredged after shoaling, Oct. 2025. (Photo: Boca Daily News)

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The immediate edge of the south jetty was still experiencing some shoaling at low tide, with sand showing just underneath the rocks, however the vast majority of the navigation channel was clear. Boats traversed the inlet in both directions at normal speeds, even at dead low tide, signaling success on the part of the city’s dredge crews. Still, however, sand was exposed, producing small swells, close to the north jetty.

Boca Raton Inlet is dredged after shoaling, Oct. 2025. (Photo: Boca Daily News)

Boca Raton Inlet is dredged after shoaling, Oct. 2025. (Photo: Boca Daily News)

Boca Raton Inlet is dredged after shoaling, Oct. 2025. (Photo: Boca Daily News)

Boca Raton Inlet is dredged after shoaling, Oct. 2025. (Photo: Boca Daily News)

Boca Raton Inlet is unique in the fact that the city is permitted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Florida Department of Environmental Protection to utilize its own dredge to keep the inlet clear. The inlet underwent a major dredge project in 2023, when 370,000 cubic yards of sand was removed from the inlet’s ebb shoal over nine weeks as part of a beach replenishment program that sent sand southward. The local dredging program is governed by what is known as an Inlet Management Plan. The plan calls for the inlet to be maintained to a depth of at least 6-feet at mean low water, with a target of 83,000 cubic yards of sand to be removed each year.

The state and city each provide $79,000 annually toward the work.