Design, Permit, Construction Support Services - Little Sabine Bay - RESTORE

1. Introduction

Escambia County RESTORE Division of Natural Resources Management (NRM) is soliciting Statements of Qualifications from qualified firms to provide professional services for the RESTORE-funded Little Sabine Bay Restoration Project. This effort, Phase I, includes scientific review, public engagement, and development of a prioritized project list of 4-5 restoration projects benefitting Little Sabine Bay. In a later solicitation, Phase II will include design and permitting of the project selected for implementation and optional limited construction oversight.

2. Background

Little Sabine Bay is an inlet accessed from the Santa Rosa Sound on the North Side of Santa Rosa Island near the Southern foot of the Bob Sikes Bridge on Pensacola Beach, Florida, approximately located at 30°20'04.2"N 87°08'51.0"W. The inlet is about 148 acres and is defined by a navigational channel encircling a shallow center. The western half of the central shallow area contains seagrass meadow with patchy submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV). The eastern half of the central shallow areas is a sand shoal, which becomes dry during some winter low tides. A western lobe of the bay is constrained by a bottleneck, about 300 ft in length and 150 ft in width, limiting flushing of about about 5.5 acres of the bay.

Little Sabine Bay is bordered to the East by commercial development, including commercial and residential marinas, restaurants, and the Quietwater Boardwalk; to the south by residential and short-term rentals including high-rise and multi-family buildings; and to the west and north by single-family residential development. Most of the shorelines are soft and natural, with armoring and seawalls located at the inlet opening and several commercial properties.

Typically, about 150-200 vessels reside within Little Sabine Bay at marinas, residential docks, or moored. During peak visitation such as during the Blue Angels Homecoming airshow, locals have described the density of boats as being able to walk across the bay without getting wet. During high season, SAV is subject to prop scarring and damage from anchors. Heavy boat traffic can also contribute to erosion and resuspension of sediments, leading to increased turbidity. Vessels illicitly emptying holding tanks into the bay contribute to potentially high bacteria counts.

While much of the adjacent residential land is generally considered relatively low-impact, a high rate of impervious surfaces, including parking lots and paved roadway contribute untreated stormwater to Little Sabine on the east and areas to the south of the bay.

3. Historic Water Quality Concerns in Little Sabine Bay

Residents raising concerns about declined water quality and erosion in the late 1990s led to the formation of the Save our Sabine Bay Association and pressure on the Santa Rosa Island Authority (SRIA) to develop a long-term recovery plan for Little Sabine Bay in 1999. The Escambia County Board of County Commissioners funded stormwater treatment for the runoff entering Little Sabine from the Casino Beach parking lot. The entire bay was designated a no-wake and no-discharge zone. The no-wake zone benefitted erosion rates, turbidity, and damage to SAV, while the no-discharge ordinance aimed to curb illicit holding tank discharges from vessels. An exclusionary area was established around the seagrass meadow, prohibiting the entry of motorized vessels. Long-term mooring, more than 14 days, was no longer allowed in Little Sabine. SRIA turned its focus to addressing pollution from leaking sanitary sewer and septic tanks.

In a 2002 report by Baskerville-Donovan, authors cite water quality improvement projects implemented in the two years prior , including: (1) Dredging the inlet channel connecting Little Sabine Bay to Santa Rosa Sound; (2) Changes in the operations in marinas aimed to encourage proper disposal of holding tank waste; (3) Stormwater treatment improvements; (4) Island-wide sanitary sewer conveyance improvements; (5) Permitting of a no-wake zone and no motor zone. Authors also mentioned a needs assessment, a preliminary investigation of water quality, and a preliminary investigation of hydrodynamic circulation. The needs assessment found that most respondents agreed that four water quality conditions should be assessed, including: (1) Stormwater runoff, management and treatment; (2) Lack of circulation and tidal or mechanical flushing; (3) Point sources of pollution, i.e. boats and other discharges; and (4) Siltation, fill, erosion, and sediments. The report also included a three step program for improving water quality in the bay: (1) the bay should have an 18-month “hands-off” period to baseline current improvements, (2) stakeholder should initiate a two-step process including inventory of physical conditions coupled with a visioning and concept planning effort and analysis of alternatives for the restoration efforts needed to achieve the results in the visioning plan, and (3) begin implementing the restoration plan as conditions warrant and funding is available.

In 2008, a mechanical flushing system was installed to increase the turnover rate of Little Sabine and “EPA Lagoon”, deemed to be two stagnant bodies. The intake structure and pump station were connected to a 24” HDPE pipe, which entered the pump station, and exited through a 16” PVC force main through right-of-way in the Villa Sabine neighborhood. The outfall included a linear diffuser with 20 duck-bill check/diffuser valves spaced along Navarez Drive and anchored by rip rap. The mechanical flushing system has undergone maintenance, replacement, and is currently out of service.

Since the installation of the mechanical flushing system, the County and SRIA have worked together to identify and implement stormwater improvements for Little Sabine, though the status of some stormwater concerns remain unclear, and should be addressed through this project.

In an effort to develop a snapshot of water quality in Little Sabine Bay prior to the initiation of this project, Escambia County partnered with EPA to conduct a monitoring and sampling initiative. The Escambia County Natural Resources Management Department leveraged an existing interlocal agreement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Gulf Ecosystem Measurement and Modeling Division to conduct a four-week study in September 2025 to evaluate water quality conditions in Little Sabine Bay. The study included both discrete and continuous measurements of field parameters such as temperature, pH, conductivity, salinity, dissolved oxygen, and percent saturation of dissolved oxygen. Additional water samples were collected twice weekly from five stations around the embayment and analyzed for fecal indicator bacteria (Enterococci), nutrients (total nitrogen, Total Kjeldahl nitrogen, ammonia, nitrate + nitrite, total phosphorus), and chlorophyll a.