Re:Beach project aims to restore Oceanside's eroding coastline

OCEANSIDE, Calif. (FOX 5/KUSI) — A major effort is underway in Oceanside to save one of the city’s defining features, its beaches. Years of coastal erosion have stripped away sand and continue to threaten the shoreline, but a local partnership says they’re fighting back.

The group Save Oceanside Sand is leading a campaign to restore the coastline through a new initiative called the RE:BEACH Project, part of a broader regional effort to make coastal communities more resilient against erosion and sea level rise.

“We are in dire straits for sand,” said Bob Ashton, president and CEO of Save Oceanside Sand. “We haven’t actively managed it. We haven’t aggressively and proactively managed it, and that’s what this project is about.”

The RE:BEACH concept, called Living Speed Bumps, was chosen through an international design competition. It uses manmade headlands and offshore reefs to trap sand naturally and slow erosion. The project has already received $1.8 million in funding from the California Coastal Commission and is recognized as SANDAG’s third Resilient Beach Sand Pilot Project.

Charlie Bowen, who is working with the project, said Oceanside lacks the natural structures, like reefs or headlands, that help other coastal cities retain sand.

“We do not have any retention mechanisms such as reefs or headlands,” Bowen said. “This RE:BEACH pilot project is an effort to put a little retention mechanism in place and also add a lot of sand to the system.”

Experts say without action, erosion could threaten homes, businesses and the city’s tourism economy. Ashton said he fears what could happen if a major storm hits before the project is completed.

“If we were to have a large storm event this winter, we’re going to see private and public infrastructure destroyed,” Ashton said. “The livelihood of our city is the beach, and we can’t allow that to happen.”

Studies show that harbor structures built near Camp Pendleton decades ago disrupted the natural flow of sand to Oceanside’s beaches, a key factor in the city’s ongoing erosion issues.

“They installed the Del Mar jetty and breakwater, that was later extended quite a few times,” Bowen said. “That blocks off sand flow from the Santa Margarita River. It’s very much a man-made issue, and we believe there are man-made solutions that can bring back the beaches of Oceanside.”

At a community event this weekend, residents, city leaders and coastal experts gathered to raise awareness and rally support for the project. The event also featured the debut of a BBC mini-documentary spotlighting Oceanside’s efforts to restore its beaches.

Organizers say the pilot project is still years from completion, but each step brings Oceanside closer to saving its sand.