Batiquitos, Moonlight and Cardiff beaches had been scheduled to receive new sand this month as part of a regional project—but that timeline has been pushed back about a month.
According to an update from the City of Encinitas, the setback is due to a holdup on equipment—and to avoid impacting grunion runs, nearby nesting and foraging shorebirds, and lobster season.
“We’re looking at the October-November timeframe now, but the project is dependent upon weather and unforeseen delays,” stated Shelby Tucker, project manager for San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG), the group spearheading the project.
This season SANDAG is planning to widen shoreline from Imperial Beach to Oceanside with more than 1.4 million cubic yards of sand—and of that, 286,000 cubic yards will be deposited here in Encinitas.
At Batiquitos Beach, just south of the Batiquitos Lagoon mouth, 105,000 cubic yards of new sand will extend south to a bluff-backed area of the beach. At Moonlight Beach, crews will start near the existing restroom and spread a total of 92,000 cubic yards of new sand to the north and south. Cardiff will get 89,000 cubic yards of new sand, starting at the Chart House and stretching south down the beach.
The San Diego chapter of the Surfrider Foundation will be using video surveillance cameras at Moonlight and Cardiff beaches to monitor how all that sand impacts local surf conditions. Surfrider hopes to track surf conditions daily for at least two years, creating an online archive and providing a visual record that’s never existed.
SANDAG estimates the entire regional project will cost $29 million from planning through construction. The project is funded in part by the California Department of Boating and Waterways, and the participating cities.
Encinitas is contributing $885,000 toward its portion the project, which includes the cost of technical studies, background documents, and permitting fees. Of that, $744,146 came from the Coastal Zone Management Fund—and $141,700 came from the Coastal Commission Sand Mitigation Fund.
For updates on the project timeline, visit www.sandag.org/beachsand. To subscribe to notifications, e-mail beachsand@sandag.org. For more information, call the project hotline at (619) 699-0640.
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