The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Los Angeles District, has hired a contractor to remove sediment along the channels in the Santa Ana River Marsh.
The project will restore design channel depths to improve circulation and tidal flushing – both necessary to maintain the salt marsh habitat which includes many endangered species.
The Corps’ project also includes a beach sand replenishment component. Good quality sand will be pumped through a pipeline to the nearshore, located 1,000 feet offshore from 60th Street. The sands have been thoroughly tested and approved by EPA for placement in the nearshore environment. Area residents and beach visitors will see that a temporary pipeline is in place and runs from the Marsh parallel to the Santa Ana River, then down along the beach and through the surf zone to the approved nearshore disposal location. Sand pumping started last week and is set to continue for about two weeks. The temporary pipe is expected to be removed during the week of February 25.
Sediment not compatible for beach replenishment will be excavated and disposed of at an upland landfill. The California least tern island within the Marsh will also be cleared of weedy vegetation to improve the nesting habitat of this endangered species.
The proposed dredging and excavation is scheduled to be completed by the end of March 2013.
[mappress]
Press Release, February 18, 2013