The Matanzas Inlet is located north of St. Johns country line in Florida. This area, as well as the intracoastal waterway close to the inlet, are characterized by high waves and high levels of shoaling.

One of the main reasons was identified as the close proximity to a natural sandy inlet, which supplies large amounts of sand that settle in the intracoastal waterway each year. As this resulted in unpredictable waters and expensive and time consuming dredging in order to maintain a passable waterway, the Florida Inland Navigation District initiated a study of possible ways of reducing dredging requirements. It was important to analyse the existing features and characteristics of the inlet, after which an identification and evaluation of possible solutions were made.

The study identified several possible alternatives, and pointed to the conclusion that a deep sediment basin would provide the best solution that would be fairly inexpensive and reduce the maintenance dredging requirements significantly.