Project Summary

Alongside San Mateo County Supervisor District 3 staff, I helped scope, budget, and procure qualified engineering services to find feasible, environmentally-responsible solutions to address progressive coastal erosion along California State Highway 1, which provides the lone north-south access for numerous unincorporated coastal communities in the San Mateo County Midcoast region.

Additional historical and project conext, per the San Mateo County Harbor District:

"Since construction of the Pillar Point Harbor (PPH) breakwater in 1961 by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Surfer’s Beach… experienced a significant amount of beach and bluff erosion, leading to… permanent loss of sandy intertidal beach area and bluff-top coastal scrub and grassland, as well as an increased exposure of Highway 1 to erosion and flood hazards during coastal storms. While the shore at Surfer’s Beach eroded, significant accretion and deposition of sediment inside PPH has resulted in impacts on navigation and use of the boat launch ramp. The erosion at Surfers Beach and the impacts of sand shoaling inside the harbor generated significant interest and concern of local community members. In addition to general beach recreation, Surfers Beach is a very popular surf spot for surfers of all levels of experience, and in particular beginners because of its sheltered location. 

The rapid erosion of the beach and bluffs extending south of the harbor has been a source of concern over the past several decades. [An]… Army Corps of Engineers study concluded that the bluffs along Surfer’s Beach eroded at an average rate of 1.64 feet per year between 1993 and 2012. This erosion rate was determined to be approximately seven times higher than the rate of erosion at a geologically similar stretch of shoreline farther down the coast."