Long Beach Breakwater Controversy
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LONG BEACH CITY COUNCIL APPROVES BREAKWATER STUDY
RESTORE THE SHORE
The Long Beach California Breakwater Is the largest man made breakwater in the world. Made of three gigantic walls of rock, it was completed in 1949 and extends about 2 1/2 miles in front of Long Beach's residential beaches. It's original objective was to thwart submarines and torpedoes during World War II. Sitting in about 50 feet of water the breakwater rises between 10 to 13 feet above the surface.
The breakwater is owned and maintained by the federal government, not by the City of Long Beach. Any changes to the breakwater will require federal support. The Long Beach City Council voted to ask the federal government to order the study back in 2005. The request fell on deaf ears in Washington. Congressman Dana Rohrabacher, who represents all the coastal area of Long Beach, told city officials he would not ask for the study. Neither of California's senators - Diane Feinstein and Barbara Boxer - would sponser the measure either. This is an election year - right?
Many residents feel the breakwater no longer serves it's intended purpose and has ruined the natural waves depriving Long Beach of the cleansing action of the tides. The dirty water and flat surf have reduced beach usage. Some Long Beach residents believe removing part of the existing breakwater would restore the city's appeal to tourists. Some claim there is evidence that it has depressed Long Beach homes values as well.
Long Beach residents have become so used to the lack of surf, many do not realize the benefits of removing a portion of this breakwater and once again allowing the natural surf to roll in. Clean water and a more eco-friendly environment are the major benefits of removing unnecessary portions of the breakwater. Can you just imagine being able to surf real waves in Long Beach?
Recently Long Beach residents have begun to organize to make the removal of portions of the breakwater a future reality. At the Long Beach City Council Meeting on 7/24/07 council members voted 7-1 in favor of allowing $100,000 funding for a breakwater reconnaissance study. The money comes from funds reserved for coastal projects. It's a start.
The study will consider the role the breakwater plays in terms of economic impact (including the Port's), on the environment, national security, water quality, beach erosion, jurisdiction and more. The study will consider data from other resources, no new studies will be conducted. The benefits will have to outweigh the cost of the project according to the Army Corp. of Engineers guidelines.
Concerns have been expressed that the removal of portions of the breakwater may threaten Alamitos Bay Homes.
The Long Beach Surfrider group is hosting a free public meeting at 7:00 PM Monday 8/6/07 at the Borders bookstore at 101 S. Pine Avenue to discuss its campaign and to open the floor to questions. Please feel free to stop in and add your two cents.
Articles related to the Long Beach Breakwater:
- Press-Telegram
- Los Angeles Times
- Grunion Gazette
- LBReport.com
- Long Beach breakwater bringing waves of debate
- Great Article on Breakwater
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| Laurie MannyLong Beach Realtor (562) 212-5420 |
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Main Street Realtors Belmont Heights 244 Redondo Avenue Long Beach California 90803 |
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· http://activerain.com/gsoutoLaury, what reason did the California Senators give for not sponsering a Bill?
Permalink August 05, 2007 22:25:32 · http://www.longbeachrealestatehome.com
George,It seems that Congressman Rohrabacher is more concerned with catering to his Orange County base. It seems that has been what has ensured his re-election. No reason was provided.
Permalink August 05, 2007 22:50:39 · http://www.CentralOregonBuzz.comLaurie; I will be back to see how this turns out. Do you think if they take it down they will simply blast it? If so wanta bet that environmentalists will claim it is not safe for the creatures attached to the wall?
Permalink August 06, 2007 01:58:52 · http://www.longbeachrealestatehome.comThesa, I had assumed that they would blast it, but there is some talk of re-using the rock to shore up the shoreline which may make sense. It will be interesting to see how this all plays out. I don't think anything will happen anytime soon. This is at the beginning stages. I am certain the environmentalists will get involved at some level. Quite frankly I would think they would be on board on this one, our harbor is a disgrace and an eco-nightmare. Given the amount of wetlands that we have here and the battle to protect nature, I would think they would not come out against this.
Permalink August 06, 2007 02:08:55 · http://www.PalmBeachRealEstateandLoans.comHello Laurie-
Slow moving politicians? There's a new one!
What possible reason could they have for NOT wanting this to be done?
Permalink August 09, 2007 11:26:02 · http://www.longbeachrealestatehome.comMarc, I don't think that it's that they don't want this done, as much as it is the people haven't yelled loud enough to get it done. They are starting to bellow now.
The congressman in question, Dana Rohrabacher, seems to get the largest portion of his support from the Orange County coastal regions, so it may just be that he doesn't see any value in supporting Long Beach issues.
Perhaps he should court Long Beach a bit more. Eventually his Orange County constituency will fall off and he may find himself in need of our support. The world is a funny and fickle place.
Permalink August 09, 2007 14:49:01 · http://www.auduhomes.comHi Laurie,
It will be interesting to see how this plays out. The implications of political decisions can be far reaching. I hope the choices & decisions are made for the right reasons rather than manipulated to cater to electoral constituents.
Permalink August 13, 2007 16:33:59 · http://www.longbeachrealestatehome.comLola, I hope that they are played out for the right reasons as well. Right now I could argue either side very well. Removing the breakwater will cleanse the bay, make up more environmentally friendly, however, if not handled properly could jeopardize some beach front properties. There have been suggestions on how to protect the homes.
This will be interesting to watch.
Permalink August 16, 2007 15:30:58 The Breakwall only blocks the most common swells, a north west swell, that hit the southern california coast, for the people of the alamitos peninsula who have the most problem with erosion and seem to be the most concerned about property damage if the breakwall were removed. However, this beach erosion is already a problem with the breakwall in place. Strong south swell from storms already affects this area as it slips past the end of the breakwall untouched for the most part. The city of long beach performs beach renourishment, moving sand from beaches near downtown to the peninsula every year. This occurs because the natural littoral movement of the sand because of wave actions is severely hampered by the breakwater. Sand would naturally move back down the coast after stormy south swells displace it if the northwest swell was permitted to re-enter the harbor.
On a personal note: I am sick of money, property and politicians being the direct reason for the destruction of our environment. How can your beach front house be more important than the health of our oceans and harbors? Wake up people! The earth is more important than you
Permalink October 26, 2007 13:00:54 No one thought the Berlin Wall would fall in our lifetimes! Don't we have improved technology over the 1930's? We could take down most of the breakwater and make good ecological and economical use of the rock. Even create some jobs.
There is nothing more exciting than watching those huge breakers in August/September rolling in on a clear, windless day. The ones spawned by hurricanes off Mexico. We swam out past them in Laguna; no, I do not advise ANYONE to do that!
Besides, it was hard to get back to shore. Long Beach is perfectly situated to get those amazing swells, generated so far away.
Permalink November 10, 2007 01:57:18This post has no comments awaiting moderation.
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