Protecting Laguna’s Priceless Beaches

I think that many Laguna businessmen, City Council members and perhaps other city officials may tend to overlook the fact that Laguna’s sandy beaches are both a priceless and an endangered resource.

Sandy beaches provide attractive areas requiring little care, which are useful for a wide variety of general rest and recreational activities. Beaches provide extensive playgrounds for young children, game and surfing areas for older youths (thus keeping them off the streets), and attractive sunbathing areas for adults. Also, sandy beaches have considerable commercial value because they attract out-of-town visitors, require little maintenance and help protect adjacent bluffs from wave erosion.

Unfortunately, during the last few decades our beaches have become significantly narrower because of gradual and often unnoticed sand losses. Furthermore, there are several good reasons for believing that man’s actions, and natural occurrences, will accelerate our beach sand losses.

Because of the sand losses already experienced, a number of beachfront property owners now want to construct new sea walls to protect their bluffs from wave attack. However, many (perhaps most) of the relatively few bluff failures that have occurred have been due to overwatering and/or improper drainage--not to recent wave erosion.

Furthermore, the placement of seawalls along our bluffs will increase the rate of sand losses, thus further narrowing our sandy beaches. Most experts on coastal erosion have concluded that while seawalls may provide some protection to the lower bluffs, such walls will actually damage the beaches by accelerating erosion. Fortunately, there are other alternatives, such as sand replenishment, which will protect both the beaches and the bluffs.

City officials should seriously consider such alternatives.

EVELYN GAYMAN

Laguna Beach