Rising seas and hammering waves could radically transform California beaches by the end of the century, with 25% to 70% of the state’s beaches eroding completely, according to a USGS study that that incorporates historic rates of coastal erosion and projections for sea level rise and future wave heights. “What people don’t realize is it’s now: We’re losing our beaches now,” said Donne Brownsey, chair of the California Coastal Commission, the agency in charge of securing public access to coastal areas. The Coastal Commission encourages cities to avoid what’s called “armoring” — building seawalls or using rip-rap to protect seaside homes and infrastructure, because such hard structures cause beaches to erode more quickly. “The community needs to be aware — if you choose this option it’s going to accelerate the erosion of your beach,” Brownsey said.Unfortunately, 14% of the entire coast, and 38% of Southern California’s, has already been armored.Alternatives to armoring include natural options like restoring sand dunes and the more expensive choice called managed retreat, or moving infrastructure out of harm’s way. As an example, Caltrans just finished construction on a $26 million project to move Highway 1 by Bodega Bay’s Gleason Beach 400 feet inland and away from eroding cliffs.“With many locations in California, the whole point is being there for the beach,” said Amy Hutzel, executive officer of California State Coastal Conservancy, an agency that funds projects to combat sea level rise. Hutzel noted that because one-fourth of the coast is managed by the state park system, the state has the authority to make similar changes on a large part of the coast. “We don’t want to save the parking lot at the very expense of the place people want to visit.”Critics say Gov. Gavin Newsom’s decision to cut $6 billion (out of $54 billion) from climate spending in the state budget, which includes reducing the allocation for coastal resilience this year by $561 million compared with what was spent in 2021 and 2022, could make the state’s climate goals harder to achieve. Communities within San Francisco Bay alone will need $110 billion to protect against sea level rise, according to a recent economic study by the Bay Conservation and Development Commission.“I don’t think that we are acting quickly enough,” said Mandy Sackett, California policy coordinator of Surfrider Foundation, which works to preserve beaches. Read More
