NEWPORT BEACH CITY MANAGER UPDATE:
DREDGING PROJECT
BY GUEST CONTRIBUTOR GRACE LEUNG, NEWPORT BEACH CITY MANAGER – JANUARY 31, 2025
Source: Newport Beach Independent – https://www.newportbeachindy.com/newport-beach-city-manager-update-dredging-project-nbpd-mobile-cafe/
Grace Leung, Newport Beach City Manager
The long-awaited dredging project for lower Newport Harbor will move forward, following recent approval by the Newport Beach City Council and Port of Long Beach to use dredged sediment for a pier fill project at the port.
This arrangement is similar to Newport Beach’s previous projects in 2011 and 2012, when dredged sediment from Newport Harbor that was unsuitable for open ocean disposal was transported to Long Beach for the Middle Harbor Redevelopment Project.
A port fill option was not available when the City and Army Corps of Engineers began designing plans for the upcoming phase of dredging in Newport Harbor. The City’s proposed solution, known as confined aquatic disposal, will no longer be required. Now, up to 225,000 cubic yards of dredged material will be transported by barge to the Port of Long Beach, and the remaining material will be placed in a federally approved open ocean site.
This dredging project, which removes accumulated sediment from the harbor floor, is critical to maintain the navigational safety and the environmental health of Newport Harbor.
The Army Corps of Engineers is expected to begin dredging within the next few months.
Source: Newport Beach Independent – https://www.newportbeachindy.com/newport-beach-city-manager-update-dredging-project-nbpd-mobile-cafe/
In some ways, on some days, we all live trashy lives.
Even an inadvertently dropped gum wrapper via the forces of gravity, wind, and water runoff finds itself in company with all manner of discarded detritus heading to our oceans and beaches.
Trash is strictly a human byproduct. Just walk Newport’s sands after a crowded summer day. Or stand by the outflow of the Santa Ana River, or the entrance to the Upper Bay estuary post-storm to witness the “flood” of trash tangled in broken foliage washed downstream, to either float offshore, rest on our beaches or become locked in the life-giving vegetation of the Back Bay.
2022 Most Innovative Program
The City’s Harbor Department Code Enforcement Division was recognized as the “2022 Most Innovative Program” at the recent California Association of Code Enforcement Officers annual conference.
High Marks from Pumpout & Dump Station Monitoring Program
Southern California Clean Vessel Act Pumpout & Dump Station Monitoring Program
Recent surveys were conducted on the following Public Docks on Sep 27, 2022.
California Coastal Commission – SUMMARY OF STAFF RECOMMENDATION
Coastal Commission staff‘s reasons for recommending approval of the City of Newport Beach
Item 17a – Application No. 5-21-0640
The California Coastal Commission is preparing to consider permitting plans for an important Newport Harbor dredging project. The City of Newport Beach would like to remind residents about the critical need for this project and clarify key topics, including the rigorous environmental analysis that supports the proposal.
Dredging Newport Harbor is critical to maintain safe navigation and a well-functioning harbor. Over the past several decades, sediment has washed down into Newport Bay and accumulated at the bottom of Newport Harbor, which reduces water depths, impedes navigation and diminishes natural tidal flushing. Periodic dredging of Newport Harbor is essential to maintain safe, navigable waterways for recreational, commercial and public safety vessels; increase necessary ocean water flushing to support good water quality and habit and support the economic vitality of the harbor. In total, the project will dredge and remove about 1.2 million cubic yards of accumulated sediment, therefore returning the waterways to their original depths of -10 to -20 feet. Without dredging, sediment will continue to build up, making navigation more difficult and dangerous and decrease tidal flushing, leading to more stagnant water conditions.
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