Army Engineers to Shore Up Surfside’s Beach

Surfside’s sand-starved beach will finally get its fill.

In September, workers will dump 1.6 million cubic yards of sand--nearly 100,000 truckloads--on Surfside’s shore, extending the beach about 300 yards from oceanfront houses; now, only a 15- to 30-feet stretch of beach remains.

Throughout the winter, residents in the private community had worried that storm-whipped waves and high tides would crash past a makeshift barrier and flood homes. The barrier, which includes 5,500 sandbags and 5-ton boulders, held firm, but officials said they were afraid the thin stretch of beach would not last another year.

“Mother Nature treated us kindly [last year],” said Steve Badum, Seal Beach’s public works director.

Badum had dubbed the barrier “the last line of defense” for the community of 260 homes.

Last year, the Army Corps of Engineers canceled a crucial sand replenishment project for the first time because of budget cuts. The project, which rebuilds the beach every five years, began in the 1940s, after the construction of a jetty for the neighboring Seal Beach Naval Weapons Station.

The jetty blocks the natural flow of sand that otherwise would replenish Surfside’s beach.

Surfside is considered a crucial “feeder” beach. Its sand is supposed to travel south, replenishing Sunset Beach, Bolsa Chica State Beach, Huntington City Beach, Huntington State Beach and the shores of Newport Beach.

This year, the corps found the money for the $9 million sand replenishment project, said corps spokesman Norm Medland in Los Angeles. Originally, the project would cost $10.6 million--for 1.8 million cubic yards of sand--but it was scaled back slightly when the state reduced its one-third share of the cost by $300,000, he said.

Residents have been anxiously awaiting the corps’ decision.

Many prepared for winter by filling sandbags, boarding up windows, clearing first floors of furniture and digging trenches under houses to catch any surging tide.

“Our homes are so important to us,” said Mary Lou Kriss, a 19-year resident. “I think the whole community feels a big sense of relief.”