SEAL BEACH : City Wants to Replenish Beach Sand

With the coming of spring, city officials are turning their attention back to seriously eroded city beaches.

The city gained about 15,000 cubic yards of sand from a Santa Ana River dredging project before the rains put a stop to the project in November.

But city officials say they need another 215,000 cubic yards of sand to replenish beaches and protect homes in the city’s Surfside community.

Most of the new sand was used to fortify a 12-foot-high sand berm created to protect homes on the southeast side of the Seal Beach pier.

In 1983 and 1988, winter storms damaged the pier and wiped away much of the community’s beach sand.

City officials met with residents, engineers and state and federal representatives about two weeks ago to discuss sand erosion.

But there has been little commitment from state or federal agencies for help, according to Councilwoman Marilyn Bruce Hastings.

“All we need is a good storm like we had in 1983 and we’d be in a real mess,” Hastings said. “We would like to provide a beach for the beach-goers. But if the sand goes away, there will be no beach left for them and the homes will be in jeopardy.”

The city is continuing to monitor various construction sites and dredging projects that could yield sand for local beaches, but the cost is prohibitive.

Because of the high cost of transporting the sand, Hastings said it will cost the city about $10 a cubic yard, or about $2 million, for the total amount of sand needed.

The city is also considering renting a dredger owned by the Long Beach Harbor to dig up additional sand.

“There are a lot of things out there we’re looking at,” Hastings said, “but nothing has really taken hold yet.”