San Diego County, CA Project (formerly known as the Encinitas-Solana Beach Coastal Storm Damage Reduction Project)

The San Diego County coastline is in a constant state of erosion, as natural sand processes have been interrupted by coastal and upland development, flood control, dams, harbors, and hard infrastructure along the shoreline, like seawalls, groins, rip-rap, and levees. This erosion is exacerbated by storm surge and strong waves at high tide. In Encinitas, the impacts of this erosion result in the narrowing of our beaches and wave encroachment on our bluffs, which threaten public and private infrastructure and beach safety. The primary goal of the San Diego County, CA Project (Project) is to add sand to our eroding shoreline, with the aim of attenuating waves that further erode the coastal bluffs and providing more useable beach sand for safer beach conditions. 

In Encinitas, the Project involves the installation of 50-foot-wide beach fill along a 7,800-foot-long stretch of shoreline (from Beacon's to north of Swami’s) using 340,000 cubic yards of compatible sand, with re-nourishment every 5 years on average over a 50-year period. Though the Project was authorized by Congress since 2016, critical federal funding was not allocated until early 2020, with the initial construction funding being received in 2024. U.S. Rep. Mike Levin and Senator Dianne Feinstein along with the Encinitas and Solana Beach City Councils, concerned residents, and City staff led a vigorous campaign to secure the funds from the Army Corps and the U.S. Office of Management and Budget. 

The project was constructed in winter of 2024 in Solana Beach and in spring of 2024 in Encinitas. Post-construction monitoring is now occurring over the next two-years for the initial construction phase. Post-construction monitoring includes, shoreline monitoring, rocky reef monitoring, rocky intertidal monitoring, surfgrass monitoring, lagoon monitoring, surfing and wave characteristics monitoring, beach profiles, and monitoring the overall biological conditions of the nearshore coastal environment.

Resources:

To view Project Details, click here.

To view the Project Plans, click here. 

To view the City Council Meeting Presentation, click here. 

Winner for the 2020

American Shores & Beach Preservation Association Best Restored Beach Award!

 The Cardiff State Beach Living Shoreline is an innovative "green infrastructure" project featuring 2,900 feet of reconstructed dunes. Located on the seaward side of Highway 101 on Cardiff State Beach, the dune system protects a vulnerable segment of the roadway in addition to restoring natural habitat.

The project involved the replacement of existing cobble revetment with an engineered natural dune structure.  Historically, sand dunes naturally occurred along the Encinitas coastline before urbanization.  The constructed dunes provide numerous ecological and human benefits including habitat for native species and protection from sea-level rise and storm surge flooding. The newly renovated shoreline can now support flowering native plants and other coastal dune species once again.

The project was co-funded by the State Coastal Conservancy, the San Diego Association of Governments, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Ocean Protection Council.

The Cardiff State Beach Living Shoreline Project has proved invaluable by restoring an essential ecological feature for many native plant and wildlife species in the coastal region. You will find a vibrant rainbow of vegetation crested along the dune, offering food and resources for many rare wildlife species including the Western Snowy Plover and most recently a Burrowing Owl.

To learn more about the project details, click here. (Note: this opens as a new page)

Sand Compatibility and Opportunistic Use Program (SCOUP) 

SCOUP is part of a regional sediment management plan intended to streamline beach nourishment projects. The standardized permitting process facilitates the use of available sand from construction sites and other opportunistic sources. The program includes stringent environmental regulations to ensure that the sand sources are compatible with receiver sites. The timing and location of sand placement are also strictly controlled to reduce any negative impacts on coastal habitats and recreation. For more information on SCOUP, visit SANDAG's Website.

The City of Encinitas has used beach nourishment for many years as a method of building coastal resilience. We have a new Beach Haul Route Permit for specific SCOUP related application here. As of summer 2022, there are three potential SCOUP project locations at local beaches.

Past SCOUP Projects include:

2019 Encinitas Beach Resort SCOUP Project at South Ponto Beach

2021-2022 Caltrans Work Berm at San Elijo Lagoon SCOUP Project at Cardiff State Beach and Moonlight Beach

2025 Greystar Assisted Care facility.

Beach Haul Route Permit

San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) Regional Beach Sand Projects (RBSP)

SANDAG is the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) for the San Diego region and plays a key role in the regional coordination of a variety of projects. The San Diego region has 18 jurisdictions, 8 of which are located in the coastal zone and collectively manage approximately 70 miles of coastline which can be accessed via transit, highways, roadways, and bicycle and pedestrian facilities. A number of these facilities are at risk from the impacts of rising seas, high tides, and strong storms. As such, access to beaches, residences, and public facilities may be impacted.

The beaches of the San Diego region have been steadily eroding for several decades. The region is experiencing a net loss of sand at numerous beaches along its coastline. Beach sand is a product of weathering of the land, and the primary natural source for the region’s beaches is sediment carried from inland areas by rivers and streams. Over the past half century, human actions have been the major influence affecting the shoreline. Through urban development activities, including water reservoir and dam building, flood control systems and sand mining, natural sediment delivery to the coast has been hindered or eliminated.

SANDAG proposes to conduct a feasibility study for a regional beach sand nourishment project which would use information from SANDAG’s Round 1 SB 1 Caltrans Adaptation Planning Grant effort to identify transportation facilities that will be impacted by sea-level rise and may benefit from beach nourishment. Implementation of a regional beach sand project would involve dredging beach quality sand from offshore borrow sites and placing it on highly eroded beaches in the San Diego region. Beach nourishment is being considered as a sea-level rise adaptation strategy by a number of cities in the San Diego region who have updated their Local Coastal Programs to align with the California Coastal Commission’s Guidance on sea-level rise. Wide beaches can help protect coastal communities and coastal transportation facilities by acting as a buffer to alleviate some of the impacts from sea-level rise, strong storm events, and high tides. SANDAG has previously completed two regional beach sand nourishment projects in 2001 and 2012 (RBSP I and RBSP II, respectively), adding approximately 3.5 million cubic yards of sand to the region's local beaches. In addition, SANDAG has an established regional forum (the Shoreline Preservation Working Group) where elected officials are engaged in regional adaptation projects, such as beach nourishment.

The current Economic Analysis and Regional Beach Sand Project (RBSP III) Feasibility Study (March of 2025; AECOM) provides a comprehensive analysis of various factors affecting beaches, including sea-level rise, sediment budgets, longshore sediment transport rates, wave climate, beach profiles, sediment grain size, shoreline position, and nearshore biological inventory. Understanding these dynamics is crucial for effective coastal management and for determining the necessary steps for RBSP III. RBSP III will be a programmatic long-term beach nourishment project spanning many years with dedicated sand nourishment intervals. Key lessons learned from previous projects are highlighted, along with recommendations for improving efficiency. These include emphasizing both economic and ecological benefits, identifying larger or new borrow sites, considering sand retention features, optimizing receiver site footprints, streamlining federal and state environmental review and permitting processes, early coordination with regulatory agencies, and determining optimal renourishment intervals and terms of overall length of programmatic project scope.

To visit the SANDAG Shoreline Management page, click here. 

Since 1982, the beaches within North County have been in an erosional state. This has been attributed to a number of causes such as the Del Mar Boat Basin and Oceanside Harbor blocking the transport of sand from the north, river mining and reduced sediment delivery caused by dams and urbanization. Historically, large sandy beaches protected the bluffs and provided abundant recreational opportunities and economic enhancement.

In 1993, SANDAG adopted a long-term vision, known as the "Shoreline Preservation Strategy for the San Diego Region" for restoring the beaches and preventing sea level rise impacts. The Strategy proposed: beach restoration, sand retention structures, protective structures and policies and regulations regarding the use of the shoreline and its development.

SANDAG provides coordination among the coastal jurisdictions through the Shoreline Preservation Working Group (SPWG) by including guidance on regional solutions to coastal erosion and sea level rise concerns. The SPWG is made up of elected officials from coastal communities, regulatory agencies, San Diego Port District, U.S. Navy, Surfrider Foundation and State Parks Department. The collaboration has resulted in two Regional Beach Sand Projects along with a third currently in the feasibility study and the Regional Beach Monitoring Program (Program).

The SPWG coordinates the Regional Beach Monitoring Program which consists of semi-annual profiling on 38 sand transects from the U.S. Mexican Border to Oceanside Harbor and preparation of an Annual Report which will include: (1) an overview of historical and recent environmental conditions, nourishment activities, and sediment bypassing operations; (2) a summary of the regional beach sand projects; and (3) topographic data and oblique aerial photographs of each lagoon entrance, with monthly observations and ground photographs at the three unstabilized entrances.

To view the SANDAG Regional Shoreline Monitoring Program page, click here.