Saturday, July 11, 2009

Sand Budget: Common Knowlegde Wrong?

Encinitas Sand 2009

Where does our river-sourced sand come from?

From the Moffatt & Nichol (1990) Sediment Budget Report to the USACOE:
Major rivers discharge over 90 percent of the coarse fluvial sediments [ie sand] that reaches the coast. Small groups of coastal streams discharge the remainder mostly through ravines in the coastal terraces. UCACOE considers San Juan Creek the largest contributor of foothill and mountain-source sediment. In the Oceanside Littoral Cell, San Juan Creek yields an estimated 38% of the total average annual discharge of 82,000yd3/yr, followed, in order, by the San Luis Rey River (22%), Santa Maragrita River (12%), and San Mateo Creek (9%)...

Over 95% of the coarse sediment discharged by rivers reaches the coast north of Oceanside. Before control structures reduced flows in the major rivers the average annual coarse sediment discharge to the coast was about 134,000yr3/yr.
Most of our river sand comes from north of Carlsbad. Below is a graphic to show you the relative contributions of different river basins. Estimates of yields in several studies have San Elijo and Batiquitos providing a river discharge of zero to our beaches.

A lot of people think that Batiquitos and San Elijo would be major continuous sources of sand if we would just remove the highways and rail road from the middle of the lagoons. They conclude that we would have expansive sandy beaches if it weren't for those infrastructure obstructions.

That conclusion is probably false for several reasons. First, there isn't much sediment moving down those drainages. There is over 20 times as much sediment flowing down the rivers north of Carlsbad than is coming into San Elijo. Second, the lagoons act as a big sediment trap. The capacity of the rivers to move sediment is very sensitive to the velocity of the moving water, which is a function of the slope. The lagoons are very flat and wide and velocities low. Coarse material does not get pushed through the lagoon very easily. Below is a great visual that shows what has been happening in our lagoons over geologic time scales (click to enlarge). Notice how the lagoons act to capture the sand.


One of the things that makes me smile about the above graphic is that it includes cobblestones as part of the wild system.

Maintenance of river-sourced sand on Encinitas beaches depends on resource utilization, infrastructure developments, and land use decisions in cities north and north-east of Encinitas.

As our population grows, the strains of balancing the use of our public resources will aggravate many of our current local issues. More reservoir dams on the northern rivers results in less sand. More transportation infrastructure (trains/roads) and more concrete and steel buildings means greater motivation to mine sand--there is already a stress on our industrial sand sources. These are issues that should be resolved before we commit to upzoning the region and a discussion of sand resources is either short-sighted or incomplete if it does not include a sophisticated integration of those larger decisions.

Friday, July 10, 2009

Coastal Commission Questions the Council Majority

There is only a very small strip along the water's edge where Encinitas development projects can be appealed to the Coastal Commission. The Coastal Commission won't mess around with people's development permits  unless there is an issue regarding the proposed project's conformance with the law. 

Excerpts from the SSEL blog:
May 29. We gave the City Council five very good reasons to reduce slope encroachment and impact to wetlands. However, they voted 4 to 1 to approve the project (Barth agreed with the Coastal Commission). 

The City violated the Hillside Inland Bluff Overlay Zoning Ordinance. This has serious consequences to steep slope areas.

Anytime a project is proposed on steep slope areas the driveways and access roads are being excluded from slope encroachment. This is happening when they do not lead to areas where the slope is less than 25%. In other words, the bigger a developer makes their driveway, the less impact they have. This was not the intent of the Hillside Inland Bluff Overlay Zone.

July 9. The California Coastal Commission found that a "Substantial Issue" exists on this project. This has moved [the project] to a de novo (start all over again) hearing to be scheduled, perhaps in February 2010 in San Diego. 

The staff report recommended that substantial issue exists on the items we raised previously with the City. Their staff report and the 
Commissioner's appeals can linked to from SSELB.


Tuesday, July 07, 2009

Smart Growth Units Now Available

Beach and transit close, smart growth units are being auctioned in north county San Diego.
These ocean view units are in the middle of a mixed use downtown with lots of shops, restaurants, and vibrant activities.

Saturday, July 04, 2009

Neptune Parade today at 3 pm



Thursday, July 02, 2009

Why doesn't Encinitas have a 4th of July fireworks display???



We have been a city since 1986 and still no official fireworks display for the 4th of July. Dear city leaders, you spend a lot of money on pet projects and always speak of how Encinitas is a family friendly city. Get it together and organize a fireworks barge off Moonlight Beach for next year.
A Festive Fourth: In spite of the economy, most cities are still planning fireworks for Independence Day

Wednesday, July 01, 2009

Busby pepperspray incident makes MSNBC Countdown

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and


The most boring party in the world makes Keith Olbermann's "Worst Person in the World" list, beating out Palin and Limbaugh.
Leucadia Blog: Busby Fundraiser/Cop Pepperspray Incident

Intelligent and Cautious


Letter to the Editor - North County Times

Let's use safer at-grade crossings

I am a resident of Encinitas for more than 30 years. I live north of Encinitas Boulevard, just east of Vulcan Avenue, and want to express my opinion regarding the at-grade crossings of the railroad tracks. I would also like to state that I am a physician, so I consider myself intelligent and cautious.

I frequently cross the tracks to get to the beach so I can take my daily runs. I carefully listen for the train whistles, look both ways, and then run across. Now there is a proposal to spend millions on a few below-grade crossings.

However, at the Coaster station, I am allowed to cross the tracks at a spot with a red light and bells, which is not at the "formal" crossing at D Street. Thus, we are allowing an at-grade crossing with warning bells and lights in our city.

Can we petition to allow multiple at-grade crossings with warnings such as these to be established throughout our community? It would be much less costly, safe and much more practical than the few pedestrian crossings that are planned. Why not make our beach as accessible as possible?

Arnold Markman

Encinitas

See also, Leucadia Blog: San Clemente At-Grade-Crossings

Monday, June 29, 2009

Nice Guy Goes to Jail: Investors Broke

Bernie Madoff's $50 billion fraud conned well-known investors, nonprofits, and the little ol' lady next door.

Why did people give Bernie their life savings? Because Bernie was such a "nice guy" and he said he would give them what they wanted.

Americans probably put more critical thought and investigation into where they put their life savings than who they elect to city council.