Keeping Enough Sand on the Beaches Will Take More Artificial Nourishment

An ocean without beaches is unthinkable, yet a recent conference sponsored by the California Coastal Commission revealed that man has created an environmental situation on shore that could wipe out our recreational beaches in less than a hundred years.

Historically, beaches were replenished naturally by sediment deposited from rivers and streams flowing into the sea.

However, dams and other projects to control watersheds have drastically reduced this flow of sediment into the ocean.

The average annual sediment production between the Orange/San Diego County line and the Mexican boundary has decreased from 6,868,000 cubic yards of sand to 1,489,000--or less than 22% of historic production, according to the state Dept. of Boating and Waterways.

Reductions in other areas are not as dramatic, but 39% of the watersheds feeding the San Luis Obispo-Santa Barbara area, more than 20% of the watersheds feeding Ventura County’s major delta and more than 60% of the watersheds feeding Los Angeles and Orange Counties are controlled.

A summation of the report in California WaterfrontAge expresses astonishment that we still have any beaches at all, with the natural sediment reduced to this extent.

The only measure that has offset these alarming losses of sand has been major replenishment by various government agencies. In the past 40 years, massive amounts of sand have been deposited on beaches from Ventura County to the Mexican border. Much of this so-called “nourishment” has been done by the Corps of Engineers.

In two areas, Oceanside and Surfside-Sunset, the corps has a long-term responsibility for nourishment stemming from the construction of navigational facilities during World War II.

Other beach nourishment efforts have been one-time projects. They are often tied to dredging and construction projects, such as Marina del Rey or the Los Angeles Airport. Even if another marina, such as at Bolsa Chica-Huntington Harbour, is built, the sediments will almost certainly be used to raise development areas.

In all cases, says the report, alterations to the watershed play a major role in the plight of beaches, and the appropriations to perform work are entirely up to Congress.

The conference closed with consensus that California’s beaches will not survive without artificial replenishing of sand lost through erosion. The participants for the most part felt that beach nourishment programs were less expensive and preferable to structural solutions (such as breakwaters). Here, solutions to the beach erosion problem grew murky.

“Apportioning an equitable amount of the costs of beach nourishment to those responsible for the problems and to those benefitting from the solution will likely be one of the most challenging political science puzzles of this field.

“The government jurisdictions responsible for modifying watersheds are generally not those who bear the brunt of the effects; in some areas over a dozen governmental entities are responsible for activities that affect the shore,” it was concluded.

The fundamental problem is that altering a watershed benefits millions of people by providing water supplies and reducing flood risk, while at the same time the alterations threaten the beaches. Without a viable nourishment program, most of the beaches in Southern California are doomed.

Sailing Notes

Don Anderson of the Balboa Yacht Club tells a whale of a tale that happened to him and other sailors on Jack Mallincdrodt’s Newport 41 sloop Swift during this year’s Newport to Ensenada race. The Swift was beating south in a gentle southeasterly breeze about a mile off Rosarito Beach when there was a loud thump and the boat stopped dead in the water.

“My first thought was that we had hit a submerged log; we were too far offshore to run aground. I was about to check the bilge below the cabin sole for any signs of leaks when there came a horrendous thump. This time the whole boat shuddered and the mast and rigging vibrated violently as though it were about to go over the side.

“At the same time, the stern of the boat was lifted about six feet out of the water. The wheel was wrenched from the helmsman’s grasp and spun freely. We were dead in the water without steerage and without any rudder control.”

They had run over a great California gray whale and now it was attacking the boat. The enraged whale attacked twice more in rapid succession from astern, each time ramming the boat with its head. On the fourth rush, it dived beneath the boat and raised its tail high above, dumping gallons of water into the cockpit and down the companionway into the cabin, drenching all hands struck dumb with astonishment. The huge tail struck the boat’s transom, knocking one of the ventilator cowls off its mounting and dislodging the man overboard pole from its socket. Finally, the whale, sounded.

The boat was left with damaged steering gear, which its crew was able to repair and then resume the course toward Ensenada.

Fortunately, concluded Anderson, the whale attacked from astern. “A ram from the side would surely have holed us and the boat would have sunk in less than a minute.”