SEAL BEACH : Channel’s Sand May Replenish Beaches if Grains Match

A planned U.S. Army Corps of Engineers dredging project in Long Beach Harbor could yield enough sand to finally replenish Seal Beach’s badly eroded beach.

But before 300,000 cubic yards of sand is scooped from the Cerritos Channel and transported to local beaches, it must meet stringent requirements for grain size.

“We don’t know if the material is acceptable or not, but we think it’s a good opportunity to find out,” said Lee Whittenberg, city director of development services. “If it is, we want to take advantage of that opportunity.”

Seal Beach has been fighting to replace sand that has washed away from beaches at a rapid rate. City officials estimate the loss of between 4,200 to 7,800 cubic yards of sand each year from erosion, causing the beach to recede as much as three feet a year in some places.

A decade-old engineering study concluded the city’s beaches need 240,000 cubic yards of sand. The city trucked in 18,000 cubic yards of sand last November from a Santa Ana River dredging project, but the cost of acquiring additional sand has proved too costly. City officials estimate it costs about $10 per cubic yard to transport the sand by truck.

The city is requesting that the Corps of Engineers require the testing of the sand to be dredged in order to determine if it would be compatible with beach sand. If the grain is too fine, the sand will quickly wash away, city officials said.

If the sand is suitable, city officials hope the federal agency will put the sand on local beaches instead of a planned ocean disposal site.

“It’s a closer location than the offshore disposal site,” said Whittenberg, adding that the beaches could be replenished without any cost to the city.