CITYSCAPE FOCUS:Incoming at 1000 Steps Beach

Beachfront residents might think it’s a reenactment of the Normandy Invasion Monday when a 76-foot crewboat is set to land at 8 a.m. at 1000 Steps Beach.

But it’s only a test.

The boat, called the “Christopher G,” is a key component of a major construction project in the offing by the South Coast Water District.

The district is using the boat to haul equipment and a work crew to refurbish part of a two-mile coastal tunnel that houses a sewer main, Water District spokeswoman Linda Homscheid said.

The sewer tunnel was built more than 50 years ago using timbers and railroad ties — similar to an antique mine shaft — and has been deteriorating.

The tunnel runs between 50 and 80 feet below the ground from Three Arch Bay to Aliso Beach and so far has succeeded in doing its job — protecting the shoreline from a sewage spill, Homscheid said.

“There has never been a sewage spill on the beach since the sewer tunnel has been there,” Homscheid said.

The tunnel is 6 feet tall and 5 feet wide, and in the past few years district employees have noticed falling rock and other evidence of deterioration. In 2004, district officials decided to shore up the worst sections.

A 50-foot area that is closest to the shoreline will be carved out to eliminate unstable rock, and a special type of concrete, called “shotcrete,” will be used to encase the tunnel walls, she said.

Then an 800-foot section of the two-mile tunnel will be “shotcreted” to create a hard interior coating.

The pipeline itself will also be encased in concrete to further assure that no sewage can leak out of it.

On Monday morning, the crewboat will conduct a test landing at 1000 Steps Beach, which is expected to become the staging area for the project.

The boat will remain at the landing-site for about 15 minutes and then head back to Dana Point Harbor.

The project, estimated to cost $2 million, will start the week of Jan. 8 and continue for about four and a half months.

Homscheid said the crewboat will not be left at the beachsite for long periods.

“Over four and a half months there will be 30 boats trips in and out, one or two times a week,” she said. “It will not be at anchor.”

The 300 or so homes along the beach will be in no danger from the work inside the tunnel, Homscheid said.

Because the project is considered an emergency, no permits are required by the California Coastal Commission, she said. The City of Laguna Beach has issued its own Coastal Development Permit for the project.

For more information about the project, call (949) 499-4555 or visit www.scwd.org.