Oceanside Sand Nourishment and Retention Project

The Oceanside Sand Nourishment and Retention Project (project) is being implemented in response to chronic beach erosion, disruption and reduction of coastal sediment supply, increased shoreline vulnerability associated with climate change, and the need for more effective coastal management in the City of Oceanside (City). Since construction of the Camp Pendleton Boat Basin and the City’s Small Craft Harbor, over 21 million cubic yards of sand have been artificially placed on City beaches from either dredging activity to build the two harbors; the removal of sediment from the San Luis Rey River; the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers annual navigation dredging program; or one-off, local or regional beach nourishment events. Despite these efforts, coastal areas south of Harbor Beach (i.e., south of South Jetty) have been largely unable to sustain a dry sand beach for recreational, ecological, and coastal storm-damage protection purposes. The overarching purpose of the project is to enhance coastal resilience along the City’s shoreline by developing, testing, and refining scalable adaptation strategies that are technically feasible, financially sustainable, and environmentally and socially responsible. The project is designed to address chronic beach erosion, protect coastal infrastructure, and improve public access and recreational opportunities. Project-specific details are presented below. RE:BEACH Pilot Project The site-specific RE:BEACH Pilot Project would consist of the following four primary components: • Two Headlands • One Offshore Reef • Onshore Beach Nourishment • Nearshore Nourishment The headlands would be constructed at the seaward terminus of Tyson Street and Wisconsin Avenue, respectively. The headlands would be designed to stabilize sand along the backshore and reduce, but not eliminate, the longshore transport of sediment in the project location. The offshore reef would be located approximately 900 feet offshore, between the headlands, and would function to dissipate wave energy and promote salient formation (i.e., sand deposition). Onshore nourishment would place sand sourced from an offshore borrow site (see Figure 2) along the beach from First Street (just south of the Oceanside Pier) to Oceanside Boulevard, while nearshore nourishment would supplement sediment in the surf zone. Permitting and design are anticipated to occur between 2025 and 2027, followed by reef and headland installation coupled with nourishment activities in approximately 2028, depending on permitting and fundraising. Design of the offshore reef is intended to dissipate wave energy through wave shoaling and breaking, which would stabilize the sand bars and beach in its lee (i.e., shoreward side of the reef). Waves breaking on the reef would contribute to slowing the rate of longshore sediment transport along the beach and creating a salient sand bar that mimics natural offshore reef structures along the California coast. The reef may provide improved surfing in the lee (i.e., landward) of the reef due to refraction around the structure and sandbar creation (i.e., landward and north/south); however, it is difficult to predict this outcome. The two headlands would be positioned on the shore, both north and south of the reef, at Tyson Street and Wisconsin Avenue, respectively. The headlands would provide recreational amenities, coastal viewing, beach access, and marine safety improvements, as well as assist with beach stabilization. The headlands are designed to complement the salient in the lee of the reef and increase beach stabilization in this area. The RE:BEACH Pilot Project would include a robust monitoring and adaptive management framework with the intent to generate site-specific data, evaluate performance under dynamic coastal conditions, and inform future shoreline management decisions. The monitoring and adaptive management framework would also serve as a platform to engage the community, integrate regional sediment management efforts, and support long-term coastal management and adaptation to sea level rise planning. Ultimately, the RE:BEACH Pilot Project is intended to serve as a replicable model that balances environmental stewardship, public safety, and recreational use across the broader City coastline. RE:BEACH Program The RE:BEACH Program would provide for phased implementation of additional coastal resilience strategies throughout the southern shoreline of the City to increase climate resilience, beach retention, coastal access and recreation, sandy beach habitat, and support longer term policy planning. The RE:BEACH Pilot Project described above includes a robust monitoring and adaptive management framework to evaluate performance under dynamic coastal conditions and inform future shoreline management decisions. The results of the monitoring and adaptive management framework would inform general siting criteria, facility types, design considerations, construction methods, and operations to support implementation of additional phases under the RE:BEACH Program. A majority of the gathered data from the monitoring program would also inform baseline conditions throughout southern segments of the coastline. The additional phases would similarly address the coastal resilience and management goals of the City and would be discussed thoroughly in an Adaptive Monitoring and Management Plan. Future phases under the RE:BEACH Program may include the following: • Additional nourishment actions onshore and/or in the nearshore • Additional headland features along the City’s shoreline • Additional reef features installed offshore the City’s shoreline • Related upgrades to coastal accessways (e.g., stairs), public spaces, and marine safety infrastructure (e.g., lifeguard access and assets) • Long-term monitoring instruments Future phases of the RE:BEACH Program would be implemented after monitoring the performance of the RE:BEACH Pilot Project, which would inform the necessary scale and location of future facilities. The RE:BEACH Program evaluated in the Program Environmental Impact Report assumes up to two additional phases within two individual segments along the City’s coastline that would both consist of a reef, up to two headlands, and onshore and nearshore beach nourishment. Again, at this time those future phases are conceptual and would be informed through monitoring the performance of the RE:BEACH Pilot Project. They would be included and evaluated through this Program Environmental Impact Report to provide the City additional opportunities to plan for comprehensive resilience approaches for the broader City shoreline.