Sink the Breakwater Bring Back the Waves! The goal is to reconfigure the current Long Beach breakwater which prevents the natural flow of ocean currents in Long Beach Harbor. With the closure of the U.S. Navy base, the Long Beach breakwater has lost its original purpose. It’s time to get rid of the breakwater and bring back our beach community.
Breakwater Facts
Cost Benefits of Reconfiguring the Long Beach Breakwater
Surfline Long Beach Waveforecast Report
Moffatt&Nichol Reconnaissance Study 2009
Long Beach City Council Breakwater Scorecard
Sample Long Beach Breakwater Modification Feasibility Study Cost
Take Action: Write a letter to your local representatives!
Take Action: Write a letter to your congressional representatives!
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Surfline has released a
new report on the effects of removing the 2.5 mile Long Beach breakwater. Prepared by *Sean
Collins of Surfline, one of the worlds leading surf forecasters, the report
examines the potential for surfing waves and increased surf tourism to the
typically deserted four mile shore of Long Beach. In classic Surfline fashion,
the twenty-four page document contains detailed graphs of swell windows,
bathymetry, currents, and “surfability indexes”. Read the full report here .
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 The Final Report is Available!
The Long Beach Breakwater Reconnaissance
Study, which was commissioned by the Long Beach City Council and conducted
by Moffatt & Nichol, a local engineering firm, is available for review
at the website below, along with an executive summary, a 905(b) Analysis
and a Project Management Plan (PMP). View the documents here.
Mayor and City Council Special
Study Session
All of our stakeholders are invited
to attend a Mayor and City Council Special Study Session to review findings
of the Breakwater Reconnaissance Study on Monday, July 27 at 5:00 PM in
Long Beach City Council Chambers. The Study Session will include a
presentation by Moffatt & Nichol explaining the results of the study,
an outline of potential next steps, an opportunity for questions from the
Mayor and City Council as well as an opportunity for the community to comment
on the study results. Please join us and provide your input on the
study.
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Did you know that before WWII, Long Beach was known as the “Waikiki of Southern California”? We had waves!! There was even a surfing contest here in 1939. So what happened to it since then?
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This is an example of a Scope of Work for studies that would be useful to reconfigure the breakwater.
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This is a cost benefit study that shows how much money the City of Long Beach has been losing because of the presence of the Long Beach breakwater.
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October 28, 2009
President Obama signed the Energy and Water Appropriations Bill, which
officially gives the Army Corps of Engineers $90,000 to review the City's
East San Pedro Bay Ecosystem Restoration Study (e.g. "Breakwater"
Reconnaissance Study). Stayed tuned on updates, and keep telling the City Council that you want to reconfigure the Long Beach Breakwater and bring waves back to Long Beach!
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October 1, 2009
The City of Long Beach announced
today that $90,000 for the Army Corps review of the Long Beach Breakwater
Study has been included in the Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee
Conference Agreement. If approved by Congress and signed by the President,
the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers would have the funding and authority to
review the City Council-commissioned study of the Long Beach Breakwater
and East San Pedro Bay Ecosystem.
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We need the Congress fund to complete the reconnaissance study review by the Army Corps of Engineers. Send your letter supporting the reconfiguration of the Long Beach Breakwater and asking for funding of further studies to the following congressional representative:
Congresswoman Laura Richardson
Congresswoman Linda Sanchez
Congressman Dana Rohrabacher
Senator Barbara Boxer
Senator Dianne Feinstein
Sample mail:
Dear Long Beach Area Congressional Representative:
I urge you to direct the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to complete a full
reconnaissance study on reconfiguring the Long Beach breakwater and
to appropriate such funds as necessary.
Long Beach has been suffering the stagnant, polluted water in Long Beach Harbor caused by the presence of the Los Angeles River and the Long Beach Breakwater. The reconnaissance study sponsored by the City of Long Beach shows that reconfiguration of the breakwater could bring waves to the shores of Long Beach and improve water quality. The study also indicates that the city would benefit more than $50 million dollars per year in city revenue from increased tourism. This would be a great economic stimulus to Long Beach.
Please help us become a vibrant beach community again so that the Long Beach residents can enjoy the waves at the beach and the City can benefit from having a natural resource which attracts tourists.
Sincerely,
[Your Name]
[Your Address]
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On Monday, August 20, 2007 the Long Beach Harbor Commissioners voted 3 to 2 against the funding of $50,000 for the Reconnaissance Study. The vote went as follows:1. Mario Cordero..yes 2. Mike Walters..no 3.Doris Topsy-Elvord.. no 4.James Hankla..no 5.Nick Sramek..yes.
Before the vote was taken each commissioner offered his or her reasons for their vote. It became obvious after their comments that the three no votes (Hankla, Elvoid and Walters) have very little interest in working with the City of Long Beach on any issues relating to the city.
In 2008, Doris Topsy- Elvord will be termed out. We can hope that the Mayor will appoint a candidate more in favor of working closer with the city.
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12/04/2006 This is a reconnaissance study update reported from Ed Hendricks, the Breakwater Task Force chair.
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 The Breakwater Task Force is dedicated to bringing surf back to Long Beach by reconfiguring the eastern-most section of the Long Beach breakwater. The initiative is a grassroots effort backed by Long Beach residents, the Surfrider Foundation and local politicians.
This 9 year effort moved forward on July 5th, 2005 when the Long Beach City Council finally voted to approve having a study done to reconfigure the breakwater.
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Breakwater Issues 