Sand movement begins sans residents’ backlash

Alicia Robinson

Sand was expected to begin flowing off the coast in West Newport

today as part of a major Santa Ana River dredging project.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is leading the $5-million

project, which will dredge about 400,000 cubic yards of sediment from

the river as part of a larger flood-control effort.

Work began in November, and about 2,200 cubic yards of silt

already have been dredged and pumped onto an island for endangered

birds just east of the river and north of Coast Highway.

The corps originally planned to spread much of the sediment on the

beach between 32nd and 56th streets, but residents complained that

the sediment would contain hazardous bacteria and trash and change

wave patterns, creating shore breaks.

The outcry, mixed with City Council opposition, prompted corps

officials to switch to offshore disposal of the sediment, to the

relief of residents.

With the help of a large ship, workers on Thursday moved the

12-inch plastic pipe that will carry the sand from the beach into the

water.

The pipe starts in the river north of Coast Highway, where the

machine that dredges and pumps the silt now sits, and travels under

the highway, emerging on the beach near Walnut Street and heading

offshore.

To keep the 1,200-foot silt pipe afloat, it’s strapped to two

empty pipes, and the offshore end is anchored to the sea floor.

Sand from the river will be pumped through the pipe into a

2,000-foot-long offshore fill area between Fern and 60th streets.

Because the pipe will be in the water for another two months,

workers will attach lights to keep boaters from running into it, said

Mike Ladouceur, a project engineer for CJW, the construction firm

doing the dredging.

About 15 people are working on the project, he said. Once the

dredging starts, they plan to work 24 hours every day until the

project is done, which is likely to be in mid-March.

The dredger had to be brought from Oregon, but since it arrived in

Newport Beach, the work has gone smoothly, and not even recent storms

have interfered, Ladouceur said.

“We don’t foresee that the rain is going to affect the project,”

he said.

“They have to work with the low and high tides. That’s probably

more challenging.”

One beachfront homeowner, Dave Johnson, stopped to look at the

project Thursday.

He’s glad the city and the corps took another look at the project,

because he was among the residents who didn’t want river sand spread

on the beach.

The dredging was needed, Johnson said, but the river is full of

trash and debris that would have befouled a beautiful stretch of

sand.

“We’re very pleased that the city government finally listened to

the people, because dumping all that stuff on our beach would have

been a tragedy,” he said.

What remains to be seen is how the sand will change the shoreline,

or if it will make a noticeable difference.

The sand could start coming ashore immediately if the surf is

powerful, Newport Beach Assistant City Manager Dave Kiff said.

“Typically the sand comes ashore and stays ashore in non-storm

environments,” he said.

“Storms tend to peel away sand.”

Big storms expected as soon as this weekend are likely to be

reminders of why the city wanted the sand in the first place, to

prevent long-term beach erosion, Kiff said.

* ALICIA ROBINSON covers government and politics. She may be

reached at (714) 966-4626 or by e-mail at

[email protected].