Decomposing seaweed on the beach can be unsightly and smelly. To many, it is 'trash.' While superficially appearing to be a nuisance, seaweed, however, plays many critical roles in maintaining our beaches, our dunes, and our barrier island homes. Removing this nutrient-rich, organic layer can seriously affect the health of the beach and dunes. If left unraked, seaweed provides natural cohesion, making the beach more resistant to erosion.

The seaweed helps to trap sand washed up during higher tides instead of washing back offshore. The seaweed acts as a matrix or matting material interspersed with the sand to help the beach resist erosion. Raking also has the effect of aerating the sand, causing it to dry out more quickly. The fine, dry sands are then prone to erosion, even under moderate breeze conditions. Any removed seaweed will be placed strategically at the toe of the dunes to assist with dune restoration.

The City of South Padre Island is committed to preserving and restoring the local beaches to maintain our quality of life and sustain the local tourism-based economy. Through the years, it has received many accolades as one of the nation's most desirable coastal communities. The City works extremely hard to protect and maintain our beach to ensure that our citizens and visitors can continue to have memorable and enjoyable experiences. To continue this experience for years to come, the City wants to make sure we have the resilient coast we need to survive environmental impacts such as erosion, sea-level rise, and major storms. With a stable, defined, and continuous dune system, we can achieve this.

The beach and dune system on the Island are integral parts of a very dynamic environment controlled by the wind, waves, and tides. This system is our first line of defense against any storms, flooding, and erosion. Coastal communities, such as ours, are protected by this system of vegetated dunes that act as our protective barrier through their unique root system. The wind continuously blows the sand around on the beach by picking up the sand grains and dispersing them. When those grains hit something, such as a plant, they stop blowing and hit the ground. The vegetation within the dunes collects these sand grains around them. As the plants get buried, they continue to grow up and out. This is how the dunes grow vertically. As the plants and dunes grow upward, the root system continues to grow down and horizontally. The roots of one plant interconnect with the roots of another plant, creating this web that stabilizes the dunes.