| Beginning next week, the dredge will operate 24 hours a day, 6 days a week (except Sundays) for approximately 6 weeks. Lagoon neighbors and visitors may expect to hear noise and see nighttime lighting near the Pole Road, adjacent to Coast Highway 101. Beginning with Cardiff State Beach, approximately 300,000-cubic yards of sand will replenish the coastline. Sands will first be placed south of the lagoon's inlet, its connection to the ocean. Sections will be filled as sand replenishment moves south along the coast.
The sand will be an approximate 20% sand and 80% water mixture, which is like the consistency of a smoothie. Sand will be gradually placed at about 8,000-cubic yards a day, or like the amount of two Olympic size pools. We're pacing the replenishment so that these native sands integrate more naturally.
If you're watching on the beach, there may be more of a wetland scent in the beginning of dredging, a different organic matter than the typical "ocean" scent we associate with our beaches. This is all temporary and will assimilate into the marine environment.
Why an overdredge pit? Following beach sand replenishment, water quality will be improved by removing and burying high-nutrient sediments in this overdredge pit that will ultimately be capped by sand.
As Reviving Your Wetlands-the San Elijo Lagoon Restoration project continues-there is a lot of visual activity going on. It's often disruptive, yet we remember the bigger picture of a thriving wetland as we imagine the flow of healthy waters and an increase in wildlife diversity in this important stopover for birds along the Pacific Flyway. And, this important place for all of nature and community.
This coming summer, you'll get to enjoy a broader beach for walking, running, sunning and sandcastle making.
Reviving Your Wetlands, the San Elijo Lagoon Restoration is part of Build NCC; the first phase of construction of the North Coast Corridor Program and is funded through Transnet, the voter-approved half-cent sales tax.
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