Army Corps to Release Report on Breakwater Study This Fall

After two decades of debate and nearly two years of research, the Army Corps of Engineers and the City of Long Beach are expected to release a draft integrated feasibility report (IFR) and an environmental impact statement/report (EIR) this November on a controversial topic – whether to remove a portion of the breakwater or let it stand.

In the final stages of the East San Pedro Bay Ecosystem Restoration Study, which was initiated in early 2016 with the goal of restoring marine habitats along the coast to benefit biodiversity and ecosystem conditions, the draft IFR will analyze a final array of restoration alternatives and identify a tentatively selected plan, according to city staff and Army Corps officials.

The Army Corps will then hold a public meeting within two to four weeks following the release of the draft report, which will be open for public and agency review and comment, said Eileen Takata, Army Corps watershed program manager, in an email to the Beachcomber.

A group of local surfers and longtime advocates for tearing down the breakwater to bring waves and cleaner water back to Long Beach, however, have expressed concerns the study may not include reconfiguring the breakwater at all and focuses on ecosystem “enhancement” instead of “restoration.”

During a packed meeting last month at a gift shop and art gallery known as MADE by Millworks in Downtown Long Beach, city staff and Army Corps officials gave an update on the study to the Surfrider Foundation Long Beach Chapter. The meeting was part of the Surfrider Foundation’s 9th Annual Breakwater Awareness Month in June.

For years, the group and some city officials have advocated for reconfiguring the breakwater to bring back waves and a natural habitat that existed before the more than eight-mile-long breakwater was installed and constructed in the 1940s by the U.S. Navy amid World War II as part of port development.

“Our mission has for a long time been that we are advocating for modification or removal of as much of the breakwater as is feasible to bring waves back to Long Beach,” said Seamus Innes, chair of the Surfrider Foundation Long Beach Chapter in an interview. “We envision a vibrant sandy bottom habitat with waves breaking, oxygenation, long-shore currents, cleaner water and a healthier habitat.”

While some residents have expressed fears that removing a portion of the breakwater would flood homes on the Peninsula along with businesses and marinas on the coast during large swells, Innes said alternatives, such as constructing a “groin field,” would widen the beach and protect infrastructure.

“There are a lot of homes, businesses, marinas and infrastructure all along our coast, and we envision that any sort of wave modification or wave improvement would keep those things in place and would have the flood protection that’s as good as it currently is or hopefully even better,” he said.

In addition, Innes said reconfiguring the breakwater may help clean the water by allowing pollution from the LA River to flow outward into the ocean instead of being trapped in the bay and washing up on shore. He said results of studies should show the potential impacts to water quality.

“It’s pretty obvious the breakwater is trapping a lot of pollution on the inside, the Long Beach side,” Innes said. “With that removed or sections of it removed, trash could flow further out to sea and not be trapped on our beaches. We’re waiting for studies to come out to clarify that because it’s kind of a hypothesis. It’s not backed by a lot of data.”

Still, he said it’s undetermined whether alternatives will include reconfiguring the breakwater, as the Army Corps has backed off plans for breakwater restoration and is focusing more on ecosystem enhancement. Innes said the city, however, may include its own alternatives for breakwater reconfiguration.

Takata confirmed in an email that the city and the Army Corps are “currently evaluating a range of potential restoration alternatives, some of which include modifications to the existing breakwater.”

She said the goal of the study is to “restore marine habitats that have been lost, degraded, or are now scarce along the Southern California coast in order to benefit biodiversity and ecosystem condition. Habitats targeted for restoration include, but are not limited to, kelp, rocky reef and eelgrass.”

Diana Tang, manager of government affairs for the City of Long Beach, confirmed in an email that the city is requesting the Army Corps include at least two alternatives that involve breakwater modification in the EIR process.

The city fully supports the Army Corps’ ecosystem restoration mission, she said, adding that the city’s additional interests and purpose for involvement in the study is to “improve water quality in the East San Pedro Bay and potentially identify incidental recreational benefits” through the study.

“Our goal is to obtain the science behind options for modifying the Long Beach Breakwater so that informed decisions can be made,” Tang said. “Of course, we are also committed to protecting existing infrastructure and maritime operations.”

While the East San Pedro Bay Ecosystem Restoration Study was covered by city and federal funding, Takata said cost estimates for the project will be included in the draft IFR and will be balanced with the ecosystem restoration value that a particular alternative provides.

sean@beachcomber.news