Taylor Engineering assisted the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Jacksonville District (USACE) in support of its Section 1135 study of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway in the vicinity of Sebastian Inlet. This study investigated the likely effectiveness of proposed modifications intended to restore benthic, intertidal, and upland habitat in the Indian River Lagoon. Modifications included reducing the size or configuration of dredged material disposal islands south of the inlet, planting appropriate aquatic and upland vegetation, and placing scraped material from the recontoured islands to create additional areas for benthic aquatic habitat restoration.

Working with the U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the USACE identified protection of Pelican Island, a critically eroding Island in the Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge (the nation's first), as a viable beneficial use of the material from the dredged disposal islands. Taylor Engineering investigated the causes of island erosion and developed alternative solutions to control it. To meet these objectives, Taylor Engineering evaluated the sedimentation process and the forces (currents and waves) that cause sediment movement at Pelican Island, in the immediate vicinity of the dredged material disposal islands west of Pelican Island, and in the vicinity of a proposed placement area. Investigation of existing conditions established baseline information on circulation, waves, and sediment transport. Modeling area conditions with erosion control alternatives in place quantified the effects of these alternatives on present circulation and sediment transport processes. Tasks comprising the study included (1) collecting and reducing data; (2) quantifying the existing wind, wave, astronomical tides, and storm surge climates; (3) developing a mesh for the RMA2 circulation model; (4) estimating the circulation and sediment transport potential under existing conditions and after restoration works; and (5) estimating the sea level rise and its effect on existing circulation pattern.