Bulkheads & Seawalls in Southeast Florida

Southeast Florida's waterfront is a mix of Intracoastal Waterway frontage, finger canals, the Lake Worth Lagoon, the New River and Biscayne Bay. Much of it is low-lying and densely built. Here seawalls are increasingly treated as flood barriers as well as erosion control, and local governments have written that role into code. This page covers Palm Beach County south through Broward and Miami-Dade.

The waterfront environment

Canals, lagoons and the bay

Behind the Atlantic barrier islands, the Intracoastal Waterway connects the Lake Worth Lagoon in Palm Beach County with Broward's canal neighborhoods and Biscayne Bay. The City of Fort Lauderdale describes itself as having more than 300 miles of waterway coastline. The City of Miami Beach reports approximately 53 miles of seawalls, 92 percent of them on private property.

Tides and tidal flooding

NOAA tidal datums show a mean tide range of about 2.7 feet at the Port of Palm Beach, 2.5 feet at South Port Everglades and 2.0 feet at Virginia Key. The daily range is moderate, but because much of the land is low, high tides can approach or overtop low seawall caps. Fort Lauderdale's seawall rules respond directly to tidal water flowing over walls onto neighboring property and streets. When a cap is too low, raising it may be part of a seawall replacement or a cap repair; see bulkhead cap repair.

Storm history

Hurricane Irma in 2017 produced notable surge in the region. The National Hurricane Center reported maximum inundation of 4 to 6 feet above ground level in portions of Miami-Dade County, especially along Biscayne Bay, where a sensor at Matheson Hammock Park measured 5.6 feet above mean higher high water. Inundation of 2 to 4 feet occurred across coastal sections of northern Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties. NHC also noted that saltwater inundation in downtown Miami was largely confined within a block or two of the bay.

Local seawall ordinances

Fort Lauderdale

The City of Fort Lauderdale updated its seawall ordinance, ULDR Section 47-19.3, on March 23, 2023, to set a minimum top elevation for public and private seawalls and other tidal barriers. The city lists three situations in which an owner must raise a seawall:

1. When building a new seawall.
2. When the seawall is in significant disrepair, meaning more than 50 percent of the structure is damaged.
3. When the owner has been cited for tidal flow breaching the seawall and affecting a neighboring property or right of way.

Check the current ordinance for the required elevation and any transition provisions.

Miami Beach

The City of Miami Beach adopted a seawall ordinance in January 2021 that codified minimum elevations for new seawalls and added penalties for owners who fail to maintain private seawalls that cause flooding on adjacent properties and rights of way. It gives owners up to 730 days to bring failing seawalls into compliance. New seawalls must reach a minimum of 5.7 feet NAVD, or 4 feet NAVD if designed to support a future elevation of 5.7 feet NAVD. Seawalls must be upgraded if the property undergoes new construction or substantial improvements. The city noted that its ordinance was modeled after ordinances recently adopted by Broward County and Fort Lauderdale. Confirm current requirements with the city, since ordinances are amended over time.

Permitting in Southeast Florida

Miami-Dade County Class I permits

Miami-Dade County states that a Class I permit must be obtained before performing any work in, on, over or upon tidal waters or coastal wetlands of the county or of any municipality in it. The county lists construction or replacement of docks and seawalls among covered work. A December 2025 county presentation describes Ordinance 25-73, the "Seawall Ordinance," which set review timelines for Class I seawall and bulkhead applications. The City of Miami Beach notes that seawall replacement there requires approvals from the Corps of Engineers, the State of Florida, Miami-Dade County and the city.

Broward and Palm Beach counties

Broward County holds an Environmental Resource Permitting delegation agreement with the state, as does Miami-Dade. Property owners in Broward municipalities should expect city building review and may encounter county environmental review. In Palm Beach County, start with the city or county building department. Our Permit Navigator lists the agency pages we have verified.

State and federal review

Outside delegated programs, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection or a water management district handles Environmental Resource Permitting, and work on state-owned submerged lands may need proprietary authorization. Beachfront construction seaward of the Coastal Construction Control Line involves DEP's CCCL program. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Jacksonville District, reviews work in waters of the United States.

Planning a project here

• Find out the current cap elevation in NAVD 88 and the local minimum before design.
• Ask whether the project counts as new construction, substantial repair or maintenance under the local ordinance.
• Expect county environmental review in Miami-Dade and possibly Broward, in addition to building permits.
• Use the bulkhead permit guide, planning a seawall replacement and how to hire a marine contractor.

This page is educational and does not determine requirements for any property. Local, state and federal agencies make those determinations.