Posted on July 24, 2024
A project to add more sand to North Beach in San Clemente is set to get underway July 31, after a permitting delay pushed the start back a few weeks.
The replenishment effort will involve hauling truckloads of sand to the eroded stretch of beach, with a goal of bringing about 30,000 cubic yards that was dredged from the Santa Ana River, according to San Clemente’s coastal administrator Leslea Meyerhoff.
The city is permitted to bring an additional 20,000 cubic yards of sand should funding become available, she noted.
A similar county project at nearby Capistrano Beach in Dana Point is already underway and will bring about 20,000 cubic yards, with trucks moving around the sand to carve out added space for beachgoers.
The final permit needed from the County of Orange to start San Clemente’s project was approved Friday, according to Meyerhoff.
City officials declared an emergency to get through permitting quickly, expected to cost an estimated $2 million. Sand replenishment projects can typically take years to go through various agencies that need to sign off on approvals.
The shoreline on the north end of the beach town has long suffered from coastal erosion – at higher tides, little or no sand space is left for beachgoers.
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.
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.
Leaders met recently to brainstorm ideas on how to solve the sand problems, kicking around ideas from how to also make use of surplus sand in the Prado Dam to an overhaul of the concrete channels locking the natural flow of sediment in place.
San Clemente is also 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. There’s also been talk of a tax to help fund such beach-saving efforts, with more discussion by city leaders slated for early August about adding a measure to the ballot this November.
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 only 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 lifeguards are unable to reach the area by foot, if needed, with a pedestrian bridge still closed due to a landslide last year.
The North Beach area that will be targeted with the new sand being trucked in covers a portion of shoreline that is in the Orange County Transportation Authority’s area of concern because train tracks run oceanfront there. The agency is also proposing plans to add rocks and sand in its efforts to protect the rail line that has been closed multiple times the last couple of years because of damage and landslides.
Each truck will hold about 10 cubic yards, with about 40 loads transported a day, Meyerhoff said. The sand will be spread out across 1,500 feet of beach, from North Beach to the access way at Dije Court.
Some access points to the beach will be closed Mondays through Thursdays during the project, opening back up for weekend crowds. Construction equipment will be staged in the parking lot at North Beach.
