Florida installs 1,500 tons of recycled concrete to create three artificial reefs in Gulf waters

A major marine construction project is underway off the coast of Okaloosa County, where workers have started placing three million pounds of recycled concrete drainage pipes on the seabed to create three artificial reefs. The project involves lowering 1,500 tons of heavy concrete pipes into the Gulf of Mexico near Destin-Fort Walton Beach. Each of the three planned reef sites will receive around 500 tons of material. The pipes will be arranged in large groups to provide shelter and feeding areas for local marine life. According to information released by the Fish and Wildlife Foundation of Florida, the work is expected to continue through November 2026.Site selection and underwater structureThe concrete pipes are being placed at selected locations between four and eight nautical miles off East Pass. The water depth at the three sites ranges from 68 to 74 feet. Engineers have planned the arrangement of the heavy pipes to create complex underwater habitats on an otherwise flat, sandy seabed. Once the pipes settle on the ocean floor, their concrete surfaces will provide places for algae, barnacles and soft corals to grow and attach themselves. The hollow spaces inside the pipes will g...