Beach erosion, largely driven by the force of the ocean and a failure to resupply sand, is changing the character of some coastal communities — possibly forever.
Editor’s note: This is the first story in a series looking at sand erosion issues in Southern California.
But the coastal landscape is dramatically changing in Southern California as the sand disappears from several beloved beaches. One study predicts two-thirds of the beaches could be gone by 2100 if no one intervenes. In recent years, streets and parking lots have flooded in Newport Beach, entire beaches in Dana Point and San Clemente have disappeared and. In September, the coastal railway line shut down in San Clemente for the second time in a year due to damage; it will cost millions and take months to fix – a wake-up call for how much is at stake.
“It’s important we have some oversight of where the sand is coming from and going. But there doesn’t need to be three groups that do this,” said Riley Pratt, senior environmental scientist for the Orange Coast District of State Parks. County workers try to clear a clogged storm drain at Capistrano Beach in Dana Point on Sept. 9, 2022.The area has been battered in recent years as sand erodes.
North Orange County beaches got extra sand from the Naval Weapons Station build-out in the 1940s through ’70s, with smaller sand projects through the years. Newport beaches were filled in from that town’s harbor build in the ’30s; the same story for Dana Point’s coast, with that harbor created in the ’60s.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the federal government have long been the stewards of the region’s coastline, with sand replenishment projects undertaken since the 1930s. “It was a man-made problem and without a man-made solution, the beaches would erode continuously forever,” he said. “But it’s all been forgotten.”
“For 30 years they had a solution. But then they stepped away and there was no one to resupply it,” he said. “This bothers me that we have a man-created problem, studied, engineered, solution designed — and people have just walked away from it. I find that really irritating.”“People will say we didn’t know this,” Kriss said. “Oh, really?”has been approved and sand is on the way, according to Susie Ming, project manager at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District.
“There were some challenges and successes, but we quickly learned this is so expensive, we really need the feds for cost sharing. We could not afford to do any project on a sizable scale,” Bonigut said.“I thought this would be long done by the time I left. It seems like every step, it took way longer than we expected,” Bonigut said. “I used to work at the Army Corps, I know delays happen. But 15-plus years for a feasibility study? That’s pretty much ridiculous.
It literally takes an act of Congress to move projects through each phase, from initial approval, to construction approval, to funding approval, he said. “Corps projects can be fairly lengthy.” Tracking beach loss is no easy feat, with shore widths subject to variables such as seasonal changes, drought conditions and storm frequency. One big storm could swipe several feet away from a beach. Another big swell could dump a bunch of new sand.
Some beaches are flush with sand and there’s little present concern. Huntington Beach grew from about 430 feet in 1990 to 560 feet in 2020, with so much sand space the city is lobbying to hold the 2028 Olympic Games’ surfing competitions there, an event that would bring millions in tourism dollars, as well as worldwide recognition.
For now, most Los Angeles County beaches remain wide, built up decades ago and benefiting from regular sand nourishment projects through the years.
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