Climate Resilience & Coastal Adaptation
With the Pacific Ocean as our backyard, it is paramount that the City continues to prioritize projects and policies that promote coastal resilience and adaptation. The City recognizes the importance of protecting our six miles of coastline. The City actively manages our coastline in a way that supports the community’s active coastal lifestyle and works to preserve and protect the native plants and animals that rely on our coastal resources.
The following section outlines ongoing and completed projects and programs the City implements to enhance our coastal environment and to adapt to future climate change, making our City more resilient to its impacts.
Resilience & Adaptation
Coastal Storm Damage Reduction Project
The City is part of a collaborative coastal storm damage reduction project with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the City of Solana Beach (known as the San Diego County, CA Project). The project was approved in 2015 with the Project Partnership Agreement and lease approved and signed in 2023. The goal of the project is to reduce storm and sea level rise-related coastal damage and erosion by adding 340,000 cubic yards of compatible dredged sand material in the initial construction along 7,800 feet of coastline between Swami’s and Beacon’s Beach. The project has a 50-year life cycle and will add additional nourishments in Encinitas (consisting of 220,000 cubic yards) every five years and in Solana Beach (consisting of 290,000 cubic yards) ever 10 years. In 2022, the project’s pre-construction, engineering, and design phases were initiated and are expected to be completed in early 2023. Monitoring began in the fall of 2022 to set baseline conditions of the shoreline including supratidal, intertidal, and shallow subtidal habitat. The monitoring process includes seabed morphology, water quality, benthic habitat quality, rocky reef, surfgrass, and surf site (waves). Funding is comprised of local, state, and federal sources.
Last updated May 2, 2023
Resilience & Adaptation
Swami’s State Marine Conservation Area and Marine Monitoring
Encinitas is home to the Swami’s State Marine Conservation Area (SMCA), a state marine protected area (MPA) that spans from approximately Moonlight State Beach to South Cardiff State Beach shoreline mean high tide lines and three-nautical miles of ocean westward from the shoreline (approximately 12.71 square miles of conservation area). The Swami’s SMCA was named after the world-famous surf spot “Swami’s” and was established in 2012. The goal of this SMCA is to protect the sandy seafloor, rocky reef, kelp forest, coastal marsh and surfgrass habitat found here. These habitats are used by a variety of marine species which interact with the adjacent ocean and lagoon. The effects of establishing the preserve are currently being evaluated by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife through the 2022 Decadal Management Review. It is unlawful to injure, damage, take, or possess any living, geological, or cultural marine resource for commercial and/or recreational purposes within the SMCA. The only allowable forms of fishing in the SMCA are recreational fishing (hook and line) from shore and spearfishing for white seabass and pelagic finfish. Fishing from boats is prohibited. The prevalence of healthy reefs in the Swami’s SMCA are ideal for recreation but are unfortunately also a draw for poachers. To advance its priority of environmental stewardship, the City installed a marine monitoring (M2) radar in November 2020 on top of the Marine Safety Center at Moonlight State Beach in partnership with the designers of the radar program, Protected Seas, and WILDCOAST, an international environmental non-profit organization. M2 is a low-powered, high frequency marine radar coupled with specially designed software to track boat activity and illegal fishing in nearshore waters. The M2 monitoring is ongoing and has provided data that is critical to both management and enforcement of fishing restrictions in the Swami’s SMCA.
Last updated May 2, 2023
Resilience & Adaptation
Cardiff State Beach Living Shoreline Project
The Cardiff State Beach Living Shoreline Project, substantially completed in 2019, created a coastal dune with repurposed buried rock revetment and cobblestone and 30,000 cubic yards of sand dredged from the San Elijo Lagoon inlet and other acceptable sand sources. Native seeds and potted specimens of dune thriving plants were placed along the new shoreline on the easterly 30-foot width of the dune with the aid of volunteers managed by the Nature Collective. The Cardiff State Beach Living Shoreline Project is the first of its kind in Southern California to test coastal dunes as a natural-based solution to beach erosion and flood protection of a vulnerable coastal asset. This project has also created healthy and safe habitats for a variety of species, including the endangered western snowy plover. A 5-foot wide, decomposed granite footpath was installed with the project, just east of the dune system, supporting pedestrian activity from South Cardiff State Beach (Seaside) north and past nearby restaurants along South Coast Highway 101. Additional, upgrades included the reconfiguration of beach parking (including ADA parking and ADA upgrades), the installation of a Mobi-Mat for ADA use during peak seasons, trash and recycling bins, and educational signage.
In 2019, a monitoring program was developed to study the Shoreline Project and to inform other coastal communities considering such adaptive measures. Monitoring data is also used to inform the project’s long-term maintenance and will continue through 2024. This program is a collaborative effort between the City, California State Parks, California State Coastal Conservancy, the Nature Collective, U.S. Fish and Wildlife, Surfrider Foundation, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), and the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. In March 2021, the City accepted a national award from the American Shore and Beach Preservation Association (ASBPA) for Best Restored Beach of 2020.
Last updated May 2, 2023
Resilience & Adaptation
Beacon’s Coastal Bluff Restoration Project
In 2020, the Beacon’s Coastal Bluff Restoration Project was designed. The project was, approved and permitted in early 2021.The primary objective of the project is to stabilize surface soils and reduce erosion by planting native vegetation via hydroseeding and potted plants. These measures are intended to protect the existing beach access trail, while also increasing coastal bluff habitat. The approximate 1.2-acre coastal bluff area largely contained non-native species or bare ground prior to the project. With the installation of adapted native species—such as Coast Sunflower, Yucca, and California Sagebrush—the coastal bluff provides enhanced habitat for coastal species, stabilizes the surface soil of the bluff, and beautifies the trail. The restoration program also includes a pilot project which uses washed up kelp to encourage natural dune formation. The first round of bluff restoration was officially completed in November 2021. The City’s Parks and Recreation Department conducted a second round of planting and restoration in the fall of 2022 and will do so again in fall of 2023.
Last updated May 2, 2023
Resilience & Adaptation
Sand Compatibility and Opportunistic Use Program
The Sand Compatibility and Opportunistic Use Program, or SCOUP, facilitates the use of available sand from construction sites and other opportunistic sources, from both private and public development projects. SCOUP is part of a local sediment management plan intended to streamline beach nourishment projects. Beach nourishment is a process used to add additional beach compatible sand sediment to a beach or nearshore area. Once the sediment has been tested to be compatible with the receiver sites through the SCOUP protocol, it is used to repair existing beach storm damage, provide increased beach storm protection, develop new habitat, and enhance beach usage and recreation. 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. As an example, in 2021, as part of the Build NCC (North Coast Corridor) project, the City, in collaboration with San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) and Caltrans, transported 70,000 cubic yards of beach-quality material from the San Elijo Lagoon to Encinitas beaches.. Over the course of four months, the material was dredged and piped or hauled by truck to Cardiff State Beach and Moonlight State Beach. The City has used beach nourishment for many years as a method of building coastal resilience and will continue to do so in the future.
Last updated May 2, 2023