Erosion threatens San Clemente beach, homes and coastal rail corridor
Rising seas, stronger waves and reduced sediment are shrinking the beach in San Clemente, California, damaging bluffs and repeatedly closing a coastal rail line. Residents will vote on a proposed 1% sales tax for sand replenishment and wildfire protection as officials consider longer-term options.
Coastal erosion is shrinking the beach in San Clemente, California, damaging oceanfront areas and repeatedly disrupting a rail line that runs along the Southern California coast. The rising sea and stronger waves have pushed the shoreline inland and split the city’s North Beach. Crumbling bluffs have damaged homes, while surf reaching the railway has forced repeated closures of a passenger route that is also used by freight and the military.
Sean Vitousek, a research oceanographer with the U.S. Geological Survey, said sea level rise was creating continuing pressure on beaches. He said the ocean would keep rising and beaches would retreat towards the land.
Scientists have forecast that more than half of Southern California’s beaches could significantly erode by 2100. San Clemente, a city of about 62,000 people, is also affected by development that has reduced the flow of sediment feeding its beaches. Warmer ocean waters have pushed waves higher and farther inland.
The city is preparing for flooding and landslides ahead of an expected super El Niño, while a recent study found that human-caused climate change is making El Niño events stronger. Residents will vote in November on a measure proposing a 1% sales tax to fund wildfire protection and sand replenishment. Cameron Cosgrove, who helped write the measure, said erosion had removed the community’s walkable beach.
Opponents support adding sand but favour a regional approach rather than a local tax. City Manager Andy Hall said San Clemente faced a sand deficit of about 3 million cubic yards. Transporting that volume by truck would require about 300,000 trips, he said.
Officials have used rocks to protect the railway, but waves striking the barriers carry more sand offshore and may accelerate future erosion. Darrell Johnson, chief executive of the Orange County Transportation Authority, said obtaining permits for more sand had been difficult. Officials hope an emergency declaration linked to El Niño will speed the process.
In the longer term, they will study moving the tracks inland; if protection or relocation proves impossible, Johnson said stopping the line may have to be considered.
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