Dredging setbacks are likely

Andrew Edwards

Stormy weather and a boat running aground are expected to delay

completion of the Santa Ana River dredging project by about one

month, Newport Beach officials said Monday.

“With all the storm action it’s certainly not on schedule,”

Newport Beach Councilman Steve Rosansky said. “It’s been one thing

after another.”

Work on the $5-million dredging project, which is being overseen

by the Army Corps of Engineers, started in November, and crews were

initially assigned to work nonstop. The corps contracted Santa

Ana-based CJW Construction to dig out the river, and the work was

expected to be completed by mid-March, though Rosansky said the

contractors expect the work will take longer.

“They’re already asking to work into April,” Rosansky said.

Representatives from the corps and CJW could not be reached for

comment Monday, Presidents Day.

A report from the Newport Beach Harbor Resources Division lists a

series of problems related to the river dredging, most notably the

events of Feb. 6 when the dredging boat Eland ran aground on the

beach at West Newport, during an attempt to move the pipeline that

carries dredged materials. The boat was stuck for two days.

Other difficulties listed in the city report include heavy

storm-related flows from the Santa Ana River, damage to the discharge

pipe and rough surf.

“Obviously, when the main dredging boat goes aground and the

pipes take a long time laying, it’s inevitable that the project

overall would be delayed,” Newport Beach Asst. City Manager Dave Kiff

said. “So this isn’t unexpected ... nor is it necessarily a problem

because it’s just kind of the way those projects go.”

Kiff said he did not have specific information on the delay, but

was not surprised to hear one was anticipated.

“It’s only a problem if the corps can’t continue to manage it and

can’t continue to fund it, because we’re just observers on this

project anyway,” Kiff continued.

The Harbor Resources Division’s report also mentioned that

lifeguards have had to pay extra attention to the discharge pipe

during breaks from the storms, as beachgoers have tried to walk on

the pipe.

Lifeguard Lt. Boyd Mickley said the storms have been a much

greater problem than anything posed by surfers or swimmers trying to

play around the pipe.

“The weather’s what’s been the problem with the pipe,” Mickley

said. “They’re either having problems with the tide, or the surf or

the pipeline.”

* ANDREW EDWARDS covers business and the environment. He can be

reached at (714) 966-4624 or by e-mail at andrew.edwards

@latimes.com.