Newport Beach City Manager Update: New Marine Trash Skimmer
By Guest Contributor Grace Leung, Newport Beach City Manager – February 25, 2023
Source: Newport Beach Independent Newport Beach City Manager Update: Trash Skimmer
Grace Leung, Newport Beach City Manager
Representatives from the Surfrider Foundation North Orange County Chapter recently presented the City with a generous donation of $12,415 toward the purchase and installation of a new marine trash skimmer for Newport Harbor. The donation will be used to offset the $18,000 cost of a new trash skimmer that will replace an older, broken skimmer located at the Rhine Wharf public dock.
Marine trash skimmers are floating devices attached to docks that operate in a manner similar to pool filters, using a motor to cycle water through a filtration system while trapping trash and debris. The new skimmer will be part of a network of eight skimmers that collect seven to eight tons of trash and debris from Newport Harbor every year. The new model will be more efficient than previous versions, using 80 percent less power and a self-cleaning filter that empties automatically every 30 minutes.
The Newport Harbor trash skimmers are an important part of the City’s ongoing efforts to keep our beaches, harbor and waterways clean.
Source: Newport Beach Independent Newport Beach City Manager Update: Trash Skimmer
Newport Beach has a handful of iconic attractions that have stood the test of time: The Newport Pier, which replaced the original McFadden Wharf (1888-1939) and is registered as a California Historical Landmark; the Balboa Pavilion, which opened on July 1, 1906 and is the city’s oldest standing building; and the Balboa Island Ferry, which went into service in 1919 to bring cars and passengers across 900 feet of water between Balboa Island and the Balboa Fun Zone.
All permits are in place for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to dredge channels in Lower Newport Bay and bury any contaminated sediment in a massive underwater pit at the heart of Newport Harbor.
But the project is now facing multiple legal challenges that could slow it down or thwart it entirely, as resident and environmental groups that tried to block those permits cite ongoing concerns over risks to marine life and bay contamination.
The Balboa Island Ferry, one of our most iconic Newport Beach tourism experiences, could be no more.
If that sounds dramatic, it is. I can’t imagine our city without the ferry, but unless something is done, this treasured piece of our city could be gone in less than two years.
Thousands of locals and visitors use the ferry every year and it’s a vital part of our culture and history. It is part of what makes us Newport Beach, and in my mind, it is as important as our beaches. But all of that is now threatened and could be lost.
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