A $2 million project to build up the beach at an eroded section of San Clemente is about halfway done, with the section of the coast already offering more sand space for beachgoers ahead of the holiday weekend.
The sand replenishment effort aims at bringing 30,000 cubic yards dredged from the Santa Ana River via truckloads to North Beach to restore about 3 acres of beach. The effort kicked off in late July and is expected to run through October.
The work is happening Mondays through Thursdays, with the beach opening back up Fridays through Sundays, though the beach will be open on Labor Day, according to San Clemente’s coastal administrator Leslea Meyerhoff.
“Sand placement operations are going very well and we hope families will come to the beach to enjoy the new sand this Labor Day weekend,” she said in a statement. “Sand placement operations will continue for the next few months and we are all really pleased with how great the beach is looking.”
The primary goal of this project is to restore the sandy beach so it can function as a natural buffer from direct wave energy and protect at-risk critical public infrastructure, she noted. “The project also provides other direct benefits, including restoring significant recreational space for the public and enhancing coastal habitat.”
The city is permitted to bring an additional 20,000 cubic yards of sand should funding become available, said Meyerhoff.
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The sand is being spread out from North Beach to the access way at Dije Court. Each truck holds about 10 cubic yards, with about 40 loads transported a day.
The sand is from a surplus stuck upstream in the Santa Ana River and is natural debris that flows down the waterway, but needs to be removed to reduce flooding concerns.
In previous years, the sand supply had been taken to landfills, but rather than let it go to waste, county officials worked to find ways to use the sand for area beaches in need. A similar project has benefited Capistrano Beach.
Coastal erosion is an issue plaguing many beach towns across California, due to a number of factors including the concreting of channels in the past, development and droughts that lock sand in place, rather than allowing it to naturally flow downstream to the coast.
At the same time, big swells and high tides chomp away at beaches – a problem that experts worry could worsen as climate change intensifies.
San Clemente is exploring various “sand retention” structures, studying ways to not just infuse sand onto beaches, but keep it in place using jetties or artificial offshore structures.
A recent project in partnership with the US Army Corps of Engineers added 140,000 cubic square yards of sand to the pier area, mostly filling in from the south side of the pier to T-Street. The project is halfway complete and is expected to resume later this year.
That project, however, doesn’t cover the northern end of town, where there’s so little sand a restroom building is at risk and a pedestrian bridge is still closed due to a landslide last year, cutting off one way lifeguards can access the area by foot, a potential problem during higher tides.
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