HUNTINGTON BEACH : City Agrees to Halt Erosion Problem
The City Council has unanimously approved a county plan to halt erosion around bridge abutments at the new Talbert Channel at Huntington State Beach. The erosion could threaten a parking lot next to the bridge.
The new outlet to the sea was carved into the beach last year. It connects the newly restored Huntington Beach Wetlands at Brookhurst Street and Pacific Coast Highway with the Pacific Ocean, allowing ocean water to flush the wetlands. The new channel also serves as a major outlet for flood waters from inland Orange County.
City and county officials last winter credited the new Talbert Channel with averting potential flood waters from heavy rains. Environmentalists have also praised the channel for bringing back natural tidal flushing of the wetlands--something that was lost about 80 years ago when heavy development began near the coast.
City approval for the erosion control project was required because the Talbert Channel is within city limits. The vote came Aug. 17.
The Orange County Environmental Management Agency plans to place rock riprap under the bridge to prevent further erosion.
The bridge where the erosion is occurring crosses Pacific Coast Highway at the channel. The county government will pay for the erosion repair work.
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