When does riprap make sense?
Riprap makes sense when the bottom is scouring away at the base of a wall. It also fits when the rules will not allow a new vertical wall. On the bay side of Destin and South Walton, rock facing is often the expected design, not the fallback.
Riprap is a layer of large rock placed on a slope. It breaks up wave energy instead of bouncing it back. Toe protection is riprap at the toe, the base of a bulkhead, where scour can undermine the wall.
A revetment is a sloped, engineered rock shoreline, usually with a filter layer under the rock. A sill is a low line of rock or shell offshore that calms waves for marsh plants behind it.
How is riprap used on a bulkhead lot?
- Toe protection: rock in front of a sound wall where the bottom is washing out.
- Facing an old wall: rock placed against the water side of an existing vertical wall to absorb waves.
- Replacing the wall: a sloped revetment in place of a failed vertical wall.
Hard shorelines change how sand moves along the shore, and NOAA advises site-specific choices for that reason. NOAA shoreline guidance The Choctawhatchee Basin Alliance says hard structures in the bay, riprap included, often increase erosion by reflecting waves. Choctawhatchee Basin Alliance A designer should look at your neighbors’ shorelines as well as yours.
Why do Destin and Walton push riprap on the bay?
Both codes favor sloped rock or plants over bare vertical walls on Choctawhatchee Bay. State law points the same way.
| Where | What the code says |
|---|---|
Destin bay and bayous | Inside the 100-foot bay shoreline zone, bulkheads are allowed for redevelopment only, with riprap waterward of the wall Destin LDC 11.01.10 |
Destin marsh zones | No riprap on, or within 5 feet of, coastal marsh plants Destin LDC 11.01.06 |
South Walton bay | New vertical walls banned except 150-foot infill; revetments, riprap or plants required elsewhere Walton LDC 4.03.03.B.4 |
Walton coastal dune lakes | Riprap banned within 300 feet, along with seawalls and revetments Walton LDC 4.02.03 |
Fort Walton Beach | Riprap, but not shoreline armoring, allowed in the 10-foot shoreline setback FWB LDC 3.01.01 |
City of Freeport | New riprap along 50 feet of shoreline or less may be allowed as a special use Freeport LDC 4.01.04 |
At the state level, DEP has its own rule for a failing vertical wall on an estuary. When it reviews a permit, DEP will generally require the wall to be faced with riprap, or replaced with riprap. s. 373.414(5) See the Walton County and Okaloosa County guides for local steps.
What are the state riprap limits?
- Toe rock general permit: at the toe of an existing vertical seawall, rock may slope no steeper than 2 horizontal to 1 vertical and reach no more than 10 feet from the toe. Rule 62-330.431
- Eroding lots: the same permit covers riprap on up to 100 feet of a single-family shoreline, with the toe within 10 feet of mean high water.
- Rock: natural boulders or clean concrete rubble 1 to 3 feet across, with no rebar.
- Limits: no fill on seagrass, no more than 100 square feet of wetland fill, and no backfill to gain usable yard.
- Infill: riprap that fills a gap of 150 feet or less between existing walls can use the infill exemption. s. 403.813(1)(o)
- State-owned bottom: riprap reaching up to 10 feet waterward needs a letter of consent. Rule 18-21.005
- Federal: the Corps’ Nationwide Permit 13 covers bank stabilization, riprap and revetments included, up to 500 feet long, with notice required in some cases. NWP 13 (2026)
DEP charges $250 to verify a general permit. Rule 62-4.050 Corps review is separate from DEP’s. USACE guidance The permit guide lists both offices.
What drives the cost of riprap?
Getting rock onto the water costs more than the rock. Okaloosa County bought ditch riprap in 2023 at about $38 a ton, delivered. Okaloosa aggregate contract The 2025 low bid for its Veterans Park shoreline priced placed marine armor stone at about $248 a ton. Veterans Park bid tabulation
That whole Veterans Park contract was about $4.6 million for breakwaters, boardwalk and marsh along over 2,200 feet of shoreline, about $2,100 per foot at award. Okaloosa BCC agenda It is a public, grant-funded park job, not a guide to a private lot.
- Barge or land access, and how far rock must travel.
- Rock size and tonnage, set by the wave exposure.
- Filter fabric or bedding stone under the rock.
- Removing old debris or a failed wall first.
- Permit, survey and engineering costs.
Build your own budget with the cost guide.
Is a living shoreline a better fit?
On calm, sheltered shores it can be. NOAA describes living shorelines as options for sheltered coasts, bays and estuaries, not open-ocean beaches. NOAA guidance
In February 2026, Okaloosa County finished 2,000 feet of living shoreline on Choctawhatchee Bay. The work is at Veterans Park and Ross Marler Park. The county called it more cost-effective than traditional barriers. Okaloosa County release UF/IFAS describes 16 breakwaters on stone-filled mattresses, about 5,000 tons of stone and an acre of new salt marsh. UF/IFAS Okaloosa Extension
- State exemption: native plantings on 500 feet or less of eroding shoreline, reaching no more than 10 feet out, with an optional low breakwater. Rule 62-330.051(12)(e)
- Federal: Nationwide Permit 54 covers living shorelines in low- to mid-energy coastal waters. NWP 54 (2026)
Read the living shorelines guide for site fit and where to get help.
What should the designer check?
- Wave and wake exposure: open bay, bayou or harbor channel.
- Slope and footprint: how far the rock will reach into the water.
- A filter layer under the rock, so sand does not wash out through it.
- Seagrass or marsh in front of the lot. In Choctawhatchee Bay, seagrass grows on the shallow margins of the middle and western bay. FWC seagrass report
- How the rock meets the neighbors’ walls at each end.
- Barge or land access, and where rock will be staged.
Boat wake matters here. The state’s plan for Fred Gannon Rocky Bayou State Park says bluffs, some 20 feet high, are being undercut by waves and boat wake. Rocky Bayou park plan At Norriego Point in Destin, the state restoration used a revetment and erosion control structures to protect dredged fill. Florida TIG factsheet
What to ask before you sign
- Is the design stamped by an engineer, and does it show slope, rock size and the filter layer?
- How far will the rock reach past mean high water?
- Which permit path applies: exemption, general permit or individual permit?
- Has anyone surveyed for seagrass or marsh?
- Where will the rock come from, and is it clean, with no rebar?
- Will the work go by barge or from land, and what will be restored afterward?
- Does the price include the DEP and Corps applications and fees?
Where rock is the usual answer
On parts of the bay, rock is what the rules expect. These guides explain the local limits.
- Miramar Beach & Sandestin bayside: unless your lot passes the 150-foot infill test, plan for rock, a revetment or plants.
- Kelly Plantation & Regatta Bay: ask bidders to quote a rock revetment option next to any vertical wall.
- Choctaw Beach & Basin Bayou: price a revetment and a planted hybrid side by side on the open bay.
- Freeport & LaGrange Bayou: inside city limits, riprap must stay within the city's 50-foot special-use limit.
- Santa Rosa Beach, Hogtown Bayou & Point Washington: DEP's general permit covers riprap up to 100 feet.
Show sourcesHide sources
- NOAA shoreline armoringSource reviewed 2026-10-27
- Living ShorelinesSource reviewed 2026-10-27
- Destin LDC Sec. 11.01.10 Bay shoreline protection zoneSource reviewed 2026-10-27
- Walton County LDC Chapter IV Resource Protection Standards, Sec. 4.03.03 (Municode, Supp. 70 Update 1)Source reviewed 2026-10-27
- Land Development Code, City of Fort Walton Beach (Municode, Supp. No. 17, codified through Ord. No. 2194, enacted January 27, 2026), Sec. 3.01.01Source reviewed 2026-10-27
- City of Freeport Land Development Code Article 4 (August 9, 2022)Source reviewed 2026-10-27
- 2026 Florida Statutes s. 373.414Source reviewed 2026-10-27
- 62-330.431 General Permit for Installation of RiprapSource reviewed 2026-10-27
- 2026 Florida Statutes s. 403.813(1)(o)Source reviewed 2026-10-27
- 18-21.005 Forms of AuthorizationSource reviewed 2026-10-27
- Reissuance and Modification of Nationwide Permits (full text), NWP 13Source reviewed 2026-10-27
- 62-4.050 Procedure to Obtain Permits and Other Authorizations; ApplicationsSource reviewed 2026-10-27
- USACE South Atlantic Division Florida regulatory guidanceSource reviewed 2026-10-27
- Okaloosa County Contract C22-3258-PW Rip Rap Amendment (BCC June 20, 2023)Source reviewed 2026-10-27
- Okaloosa County BCC Agenda Packet, February 4, 2025, Bid Tabulation Sheet, Veteran's Park Shoreline Restoration Project (packet p. 1020)Source reviewed 2026-10-27
- NOAA Fisheries: Understanding Living ShorelinesSource reviewed 2026-10-27
- Okaloosa County Completes 2,000 feet of Living Shoreline on the Choctawhatchee Bay (press release)Source reviewed 2026-10-27
- Choctawhatchee Bay Living ShorelinesSource reviewed 2026-10-27
- 62-330.051 Exempt ActivitiesSource reviewed 2026-10-27
- Summary Report for Choctawhatchee Bay, SIMM Mapping and Monitoring Report No. 3 (FWRI Technical Report 17, Version 3, 2018)Source reviewed 2026-10-27
- Fred Gannon Rocky Bayou State Park Approved Unit Management PlanSource reviewed 2026-10-27
- Deepwater Horizon NRDA and Restoration, Florida Restoration Area factsheet (June 2026)Source reviewed 2026-10-27