Reefs, Seawalls, Sand and Solana Beach

I am very lucky to live in Solana Beach. Fletcher Cove shown below is the widest beach in Solana Beach. It is where the cliff has eroded the most leaving a wide beach where the cliff used to be.

On the north end of town is Tabletops Reef. It formed when the cliffs eroded. I love surfing this spot and do it several times a week.

As my son and I walked from the north end of Solana Beach, home to Tabletops, to Fletcher Cove, we see the result of poor planning and poor policy. We have a near continuous seawall built in my son's short 11 year lifetime. These seawalls will kill formation of beaches in his lifetime and the continued formation of reefs. Erosion makes beaches and reefs. Seawalls kill reefs and beaches. Pretty simple stuff.

Here we see construction underway of the latest seawall. Built with rebar and tiebacks that go 60 feet into publicly owned bluffs. It looks so natural as required by the permit.

We have only a few areas where there is no seawall north of Fletcher Cove. Here is one spot just north of the new wall.

If you want to learn more about how beaches really form:

Read this whitepaper

View this video

If you want to make a difference, join Surfrider Foundation San Diego County Chapter's Beach Preservation Campaign.

The government policy right now is to create beaches by dumping sand and to allow seawalls on City owned property but not State Park Property.

Sand Replensihment Project EIR Comments and Meetings Feb 2-4

The San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) is the Lead Agency preparing an Environmental Impact Report/Environmental Assessment (EIR/EA) in accordance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) for the Regional Beach Sand Project II (RBSP II). The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is the federal Lead Agency in accordance with the National Environmental Quality Act (NEPA).

In spring 2012, RBSP II poposes to widen regional beaches by adding hundreds of thousands of cubic yards to eroded beaches in a coordinated effort with local governments including beaches in Oceanside, Carlsbad, Encinitas, Solana Beach and Imperial Beach.

The Draft EIR/EA is being prepared for a 45 day public review period to begin January 26, 2011. SANDAG is hosting several public meetings to allow those interested an opportunity to hear about the RBSP II and provide comments on the project. The public meeting dates are listed below.

February 2- Encinitas City Hall Poinsettia Room, 505 S. Vulcan Ave, Encinitas, CA 92024 from 6:00 – 7:30 p.m.

February 3 - Shoreline Preservation Working Group Meeting, SANDAG, 7th Floor (Conference Room 7), 401 B Street, San Diego, CA 92101 from 1:15 – 2:45 p.m.

February 3 - City of Imperial Beach Dempsey Holder Safety Center, 950 Ocean Lane, Imperial Beach, CA 91932 from 6:00 – 7:30 p.m.

A fact sheet outlining information on the project is linked here for your information. If you would like more details about the RBSP II, receive the EIR, or provide input, please contact SANDAG at (619) 699-0640 or beachsand@sandag.org. The Draft EIR/EA is available on the SANDAG Web site and is a large pdf file.

For more information go to this SANDAG site.

Some areas of concern for the surf community:

1) Will our reefs be buried in sand?
2) Is sand replenishment the only way to replenish beaches?
3) Should there be some erosion of the cliffs to allow continued formation of beaches?
4) Will the right type fo sand end up on the beach?


What you can do -
-Please come and listen at the public meetings.
-Read the material linked above and provide comments by the deadline of March 14.