Sand sites set to shift in Newport

Alicia Robinson

The sandy beach between 32nd and 56th streets will grow when a

contractor begins bringing sediment from the Santa Ana River next

month.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is heading a project to dredge

400,000 cubic yards of sediment from the river and use it to

replenish the beach in West Newport.

The $4.5-million project is part of a $1.4-billion mainly

federally funded overhaul of the Santa Ana River. Orange County is

chipping in at least 5% of the money, and Newport Beach is involved

in the project but isn’t sharing in the cost.

The project will reach from Adams Avenue to the beach. A

contractor hired by the corps, Santa Ana-based CJW, has begun

collecting sediment upstream but won’t work south of Coast Highway

until after Sept. 8 to protect the endangered least tern’s nesting

season, said Tom Rossmiller, the city’s harbor resources manager.

Some residents have expressed concern about the effects of the

project and whether it’s needed, but Rossmiller said the sand

replacement helps protect the beach, which loses about half a foot of

width a year according to a study by the corps.

Once the sediment is collected, it will either all be hauled onto

the beach in dump trucks and spread out, or some of it will be pumped

offshore to be washed back in to the beach by waves, Rossmiller said.

The work will take place weekdays from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. between Sept.

8 and Dec. 18.

Some beach access points will be closed during the work and the

bike trail will be closed from Victoria Street to Coast Highway, but

the beach will remain open outside the work area.

“It will restrict some of the use, but it will not stop the use,”

corps project engineer Fernando Cano said. “The beach will be

accessible.”

The sand’s deposit site is one of several concerns Seashore Drive

resident Jim Brooks has about the project. He said he’s talked with

neighbors and beach users worried about how much bigger the

additional sand will make the beach and how that will affect surfers

and swimmers used to current wave patterns.

“When you have [changing wave patterns], we lose this very

important element that gives character to the Newport beach area,” he

said.

He’s also worried the sand will contain silt, trash and other

debris that make it through filters.

Beach replenishment commonly uses up to 20% silt and other

non-sand materials, Rossmiller said, but this project will allow less

than 15% silt and clay. He plans to ask the City Council for approval

to hire a sand expert to ensure the quality of what’s deposited on

the city’s beach.

An informational meeting on the beach-replenishment project is set

for 7 p.m. Aug. 18 in the council chambers at Newport Beach City

Hall, 3300 Newport Blvd.

* ALICIA ROBINSON covers business, politics and the environment.

She may be reached at (949) 764-4330 or by e-mail at

alicia.robinson@latimes.com.