Posted on April 9, 2025
SAN DIEGO — Coastal cities all have the same problem — sand diminishes over time naturally. The question is, how do you support replenishment without breaking the bank of taxpayers?
The natural sand that makes up the 70 miles of coastline along the Pacific Ocean in San Diego County is decreasing more than it naturally would because of upstream dams blocking sand from flowing down the rivers onto the beaches.
So how do we solve the problem?
The San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) is proposing a $260 million sand replenishment project that would replenish the sand on 18 beaches from Oceanside to Imperial Beach. The project also includes Dana Point and San Clemente.
SANDAG Board Member and Mayor of Del Mar, Terry Gaasterland, was live on KUSI Monday morning to break down the project.
Gaasterland said the project, which is still in the beginning planning stages, would take 5.8 million cubic yards of sand, or about 1,000 football fields filled with 3-foot-deep sand, from an area one-mile offshore of the San Diego coast, to be added to the beaches.
The project next needs board approval from SANDAG. The state of California has also submitted a grant, requesting state and federal funds for the project.
Gaasterland said that as a board member, she is interested in what is driving the coasts upward and would like to see a breakdown of the line items as the project costs nearly 10 times more, and would produce triple the amount of sand than the last project back in 2012. But she also noted cost increases are being seen in all projects that are happening in our region currently.
Gaasterland also spoke briefly on the City of Oceanside’s proposed pilot project to construct an artificial reef in an effort to retain sand on Oceanside beaches.
Once the funding is in place and the project is approved, construction would then be able to begin.
