Sand replenishment operations started last week at Cardiff State Beach, marking one of the first milestones in a $120 million, four-year effort to restore the San Elijo Lagoon.
During the last week, restoration crews completed the assembly of a dredge in the San Elijo Lagoon’s central basin and started with pumping of nearly 8,000 cubic-yards of high quality sand from the lagoon to North County beaches per day.
Beginning with Cardiff State Beach, approximately 300,000 cubic yards of sand will replenish the coastline.
Sand will first be placed south of the lagoon’s inlet, its connection to the ocean. Sections will be filled as the operation moves south along the coastal strand to Fletcher Cove in Solana Beach.
The dredge will operate 24 hours a day, Monday through Saturday for approximately 6 weeks.
In later phases of the San Elijo Lagoon Restoration, crews will replace the removed sand in the lagoon’s central basin with sediments transferred from the various lagoon channels to improve tidal flow and overall water quality.
The San Elijo Lagoon Restoration is part of Build NCC, or the first phase of construction of the North Coast Corridor Program, which was unanimously approved by the California Coastal Commission in 2014.
[mappress mapid=”24944″]