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.
Gone are the bonfires, the volleyball nets and the sunbathers from some sand-depleted beaches in Southern California.an important rail line that hugs the coast
And Southern California is not alone. More than half the coastline in Florida is critically eroded. Coastal dunes in New Jersey have been devastated by storms. Some wide, sandy beaches, such as Huntington Beach or Manhattan Beach, have no problem accommodating the summer crowds that come in droves to enjoy the year-round sun and surf. But in other areas, especially south Orange County, coastal planners are scrambling for an answer to sand loss, an enigma complicated by the unpredictable sea.
Could more have been done decades earlier to protect the beaches and coastal infrastructure communities have come to depend on? Nearly everyone spoken to agrees the damage predicted is now being seen and, if solutions aren’t swift, the Southern California coast — and the economy it supports — will surely suffer.
Big waves pound the concrete wall below San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station, where 3.6 million gallons of nuclear waste is kept. Rock rip rap were put in front of a sea wall with hopes it will help keep the sea from damaging the facility. Historically, Southern California’s coast was narrow slivers of sand dotted with rolling dunes and native vegetation where wildlife thrived.
Like highways that suffer potholes and need expansion as more people use them, beaches historically have been maintained as infrastructure by governmental entities that recognize they are an important recreational and economic draw, as well as a vital buffer from the sea for all that’s been built. John Kriss, president of the Surfside Storm Water Protection District, has been keeping tabs on the region’s biggest effort, theKriss argues federal officials have walked away from a congressional directive — the 1962 Rivers and Harbors Act — passed after studies showed the construction of flood control channels, dams, ports and harbors was causing the region’s chronically shrinking beaches. The infrastructure blocked the sand’s natural flow and its ability to reach and replenish the coast.
The solution, at least for north Orange County beaches, was to replenish the sand every five to seven years at Surfside, with currents and waves pushing the sediment south to seed beaches all the way to Newport Beach. Workers build a sand berm to prevent flooding north of the Balboa Pier during high tide in Newport Beach in 2021. A sand replenishment project approved for Surfside-Sunset beach hopes to push the sand down the coast to help Newport’s erosion issues. At a stretch just south of North Beach in San Clemente, what’s left of the sand is only accessible a few hours a day when tides are at their lowest. The rest of the time, the beach is underwater, waves lapping onto rocks and slippery stairs.
U.S. Rep. Mike Levin pushed this year to get the $9.3 million approved for the initial phase of the San Clemente project. Long term, it’s meant to be a 50-year project that would have periodic replenishment, said Doland Cheung, a project manager at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District.
While putting sand on the beach sounds simple, from an engineering standpoint “it is very complicated,” he added. “We naturally had sand in our systems. We naturally had a pretty good amount of sand, on top of our cobble base, which sometimes got thinner and sometimes got wider,” UCI professor Sanders said. “My concern is that now, we’re losing that sand.”
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