How A Seawall Hurts the Beach

Many folks ask what a seawall really does to harm the beach? Environmental Impact Reports and the Coastal Commission have all determined that a seawall placed on an eroding shoreline will cause a narrowing of the beach until it is lost. Had the shoreline been allowed to erode, beach area would have formed. The graphic below shows how a rising sea will eventually touch the wall.

Behind the wall is public beach area that is lost. By building a wall, public beach area is lost. Solana Beach is assessing a charge for this lost beach and valuable recreation area. In Solana Beach, there is presently 8 acres of beach available for public use. With the placement of walls this 8 acres will decrease. Behind the walls, somewhere between 5 and 30 acres of beach will be lost between now and 2081.


The City has released a Draft Land Lease & Recreation Fee Report.

Public comments on this report are due by July 14 and will aid the public in determining how much 5-30 acres of public beach being used by property owners until 2081 is worth to them. Please send in your comments.

Comments on the report must be written and should be directed to the attention of:

Ms. Tina Christiansen, Community Development Director

City of Solana Beach

635 South Highway 101

Solana Beach, CA, 92075.

Comments can also be sent by facsimile to 858-720-2448

or by email to: TChristiansen@cosb.org.