Heavy Surf Wreaks Havoc at the Sloat Erosion Site

This is what is left of the 2012 sand replenishment project. It's time for the City to move more aggressively towards building the long term plan. 

(Photo: B. McLaughlin)

Greetings Surfriders and Friends,

Thanks to all who submitted comments to the Coastal Regional Sediment Management Plan for the San Francisco Littoral Cell.  By weighing in early with this effort, hopefully we can dissuade our local governments from relying on massive beach replenishment projects to solve their erosion challenges.  Long term planning based on managed retreat is truly the only sensible option for our heavily eroding coastline.

In other news, erosion has hit the south Sloat area hard this winter.  This was all expected.  However, it should be noted that the recent sand replenishment projects of 2012 and 2014 have both virtually washed away.  Currently, SFPUC is conducting another sand-backpass to the erosion site to patch bluff top erosion as well as to shore up the 2014 area where the parking lot edge has recently collapsed.  This work should restore safe access for the south parking lot.

While it is good that the City is using sand, not rock to patch the area, the current state of Sloat just underscores the need to expedite the long term planning process.  As a reminder, a project blueprint is due to come before the Coastal Commission sometime in 2017.

Thanks for staying engaged!

Kick Off the New Year by Protecting Our Local Beaches

Sloat pitches hollow between winter storms.  Photo: B. McLaughlin

Happy New Year Surfriders and Friends,

The Coastal Sediment Management Plan Workgroup for the SF Bay Area coast is having a public meeting next Thursday January 14th at the United Irish Cultural Center, just off of Sloat Blvd. here in San Francisco. Please see below for details.  As noted in prior posts, the Coastal Sediment Management Plan is an effort by Bay Area governments to identify ways to address coastal erosion by using a region approach.  Surfrider advocates the implementation of of long term managed retreat policies instead of reliance on sand replenishment. Our local beaches are highly eroding.  Engineered shorelines will bring only temporary relief at astronomical costs. 

Adding your comments to the record will help us with our campaign. Please weigh in against sewalls, revetments and other forms of coastal armoring.  Instead call for the promotion of managed retreat planning and shoreline restoration. Please attend the meeting if you can. If you cannot make it, you can email in your comments.

Thanks! 

Greetings, The Coastal Sediment Management Workgroup (CSMW) is pleased to announce that the draft San Francisco Littoral Cell Coastal Regional Sediment Management Plan (SFLC CRSMP or Plan) is now available for public review and comment. The Plan will be available for a 30-day review period that will close on February 3, 2016. View the draft Plan on the SFEP website (direct link to the draft Plan; direct link to the draft Plan Appendices). How to Provide Comments  Comments can be submitted in four ways: Complete the online comment form, Email comments directly to jgolomb@kearnswest.com, Submit a written comment form at an upcoming public meeting, or Send comments via postal mail to Kearns & West, Attn: Julia Golomb, 475 Sansome St., Suite 570, San Francisco, CA 94111 When providing comments on the draft Plan, please consider the following: Comments should be concise and focus specifically on the content of the draft Plan. Where applicable, comments should identify the specific part(s) of the draft Plan at issue. Upcoming Public Meetings The CSMW will hold two public meetings in January to present on the draft Plan’s purpose and contents, answer questions and solicit comments. The meeting times and locations are as follows: San Francisco Date: Thursday, January 14, 2016 Time: 6:00 to 8:00 pm Location: United Irish Cultural Center of SF, 2700 45th Ave, San Francisco, CA 94116 Pacifica Date: Thursday, January 21, 2016 Time: 6:00 to 8:00 pm Location: The Little Brown Church, 1850 Francisco Blvd, Pacifica, CA 94044 Please RSVP using this form if you plan on attending the meeting, to ensure there is adequate space. Light refreshments will be provided during the meeting.   About the SFLC CRSMP The SFLC stretches from the Golden Gate to Point San Pedro and comprises watersheds, beaches, and the nearshore zone in the cities of San Francisco, Daly City, and Pacifica. The SFLC CRSMP is intended to provide information and guidance to government entities, municipalities, stakeholders, and communities as they develop strategies for addressing coastal erosion and storm damage during the upcoming decades. Additional information about the draft Plan is available on the project website. We look forward to receiving your input on the draft SFLC CRSMP. Best, CSMW

The Untold Story Behind the Erosion Mess South of Sloat

A Hike Along the Beach South of Sloat

Dear Surfriders, Sloat Restorationists and Friends of Ocean Beach,

The Surfrider Foundation, San Francisco Chapter is pleased to announce a new report: The Untold Story Behind the Erosion Mess South of Sloat

The roots of Sloat's erosion conflict reach back to the 1970s. The new report contains the full back story behind the issue. This is a history that appears to have been lost. It is now re-found. 

We would like to remind readers that virtually all public officials and personnel named in this report have moved on. Great progress is now being made to rectify the Sloat erosion mess. We would especially like to thank SPUR and the Ocean Beach Master Plan team, the California Coastal Commission, SFPUC, GGNRA and our elected officials for being willing to use managed retreat as part of the strategy for addressing Sloat erosion.

Please read this knowing that it is our hope that by knowing the history behind this issue, we can chart a new course for erosion management at Ocean Beach.  

However, in order to do so, the Surfrider Foundation maintains that it is essential that the City consider realigning the Lake Merced Tunnel inland, and out of the erosion hazard zone.  Additionally, it is imperative to implement an effective and accountable sand management plan.  With long term planning that includes managed retreat and proper sand maintenance, it is our hope that we can both fix the Sloat area while ensuring better management of future erosion hotspots along Ocean Beach.

Thanks for checking in!

A Wave of Good News

Fall conditions have returned to Ocean Beach.

Greetings Surfriders,

Great news! The permit for SF to use sand backpassing and emergency sandbags was accepted  by the Coastal Commission. Thanks to all who helped with this effort.  We can all breath a bit easier now as our winter storms begin to roll in.

In other news, SF Baykeeper has just won their appeal of the sand mining permits. As we have covered in previous posts, the permits would have allowed for more sand to be extracted from SF Bay than comes in, resulting in a net loss to the system. Thanks to SF Baykeeper for highlighting the connection between our bay-delta sand supply and its role in sustaining on our beaches!

Finally, the Coastal Regional Sediment Management Plan (CRSMP) has been re-booted.  As a reminder, the CRSMP is collecting information on coastal erosion hotspots from San Francisco down to Half Moon Bay, as well as possible response strategies.

There will be a public meeting Wednesday December 2, 6-8pm Pacifica Community Center 540 Crespi Drive.

Please come to the meeting if you can. We need help delivering the message that coastal armor and/or open ended beach replenishment are not sustainable solutions!  Please lend your support for the use of managed retreat for threatened development as well as watershed and shoreline restoration. For more info on the CRSMP see http://www.sfestuary.org/our-projects/watershed-management/crsm/

Thanks for checking in!

Important Coastal Commission Hearing Next Week!

North Lot with sand back-pass project in the foreground. (pic Greg Gordon)

Greetings Sloat Restorationists,

The Coastal Commission hearing for the City's permit to use sand and/or sand bags as temporary erosion control at Sloat is set for Thursday November 5th.  The agenda item is 14B. Here is the Commission staff report . Unfortunately, there is no way to know exactly when during the day this agenda item will be up for public comment - although it will probably be sometime before noon. Please arrive between 8am - 8:45am to fill our a speaker card in order to address the Commission.

Our position on the permit? We support the use of sand or sand bags for erosion emergencies until the long term plan is built. 

Ca Coastal Commission Meeting

Thursday November 5th

Oceano Resort Hotel

280 Capistrano Drive

Half Moon Bay, Ca 94019

Agenda Item 14B

If you can't make it, please send a printed/handwritten letter to the Commission that arrive by this Friday 10/30/15 - California Coastal Commission (written letters via regular mail)

North Central Coast District

45 Fremont Street Suite 2000

San Francisco, Ca 94105-2219

Thanks for checking in!

The 2010 El Niño: Five Years Later

The Calm Before the Storm: 

North parking lot summer scene with a south swell rolling in. 

Thanks to Surfrider activist Greg Gordon for submitting this pic.

As word of a major El Niño is upon us, residents of the City’s west side may recollect the last episode of 2010. That winter, a series of storms drove powerful waves into the base of the Great Highway south of Sloat. Coastal erosion was so severe that a piece of the road was undermined until it collapsed onto the beach. Luckily no one was hurt. Five years later, a fix for the Sloat erosion mess has been outlined in the Ocean Beach Master Plan. 

Led by SPUR, and forged with community input, a real long term solution for Sloat erosion is now making its way through the bureaucracy. As we have covered in this blog, the plan is to relocate the south of Sloat section of the Great Highway so that the beach can be restored. In order to protect the remaining infrastructure, sand dunes will replace the rock and concrete debris now littering the beach. A buried seawall may serve as the last line of defense for the wastewater plant and its supporting structures. We maintain that any kind of buried seawall should be re-aligned as far landward as possible.

The Ocean Beach Master Plan's design and other short term measures - such as sand stockpiling - are about to undergo review by the California Coastal Commission.    Look for public meetings on these issues soon. Better yet, send us your contact info and we will add you to our Sloat activist list.  Sign up at erosionob@gmail.com 

Thanks for checking in!

Sand Stockpiling / Replenishment News

We will continue to advocate for new temporary parking south of Sloat.

Greetings Sloat Restorationists,

We have some great news to report:

Apparently, progress is being made to stockpile sand near SF zoo in case there is severe erosion south of Sloat this winter.  Given that we are expecting the return of the weather phenomenon known as El Niño; having plenty of sand ready for deployment is very important. The last thing we want to see are new quarry stone revetments added to the beach. Thanks to SPUR and SFPUC for working with the Coastal Commission to make this happen.

In other news, we have received word that the Army Corps of Engineers may now contract with private dredging companies in order to provide sand replenishment for Ocean Beach. This is welcome news, as private firms have ships already rigged to pump sand directly onshore. While sand replenishment is not in itself a viable solution, at least one large sand placement project will be needed south of Sloat if we are ever to remove all the rock, rubble and debris.  Stay tuned for more details...