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Los Angeles County beaches face ongoing erosion from climate change and coastal development, prompting officials to approve a new program that will transport surplus sand from construction projects to restore five popular coastal areas.
The L.A. County Board of Supervisors approved the Sand Compatibility and Opportunistic Use Program in July to address ongoing coastal erosion that has already reduced beach width at several locations. From 2002 to 2022, Zuma Beach in Malibu narrowed by an average of 3.5 feet, while Point Dume Beach lost 40 feet of width, according to the 2023 L.A. County Department of Beaches and Harbors Coastal Resilience Study.
"It's important to note that they've already shrunk," said Nicole Mooradian, a public information specialist with the L.A. County Department of Beaches and Harbors.
Five beaches will receive sand under the program: Zuma Beach, Will Rogers State Beach, Dockweiler State Beach, Manhattan Beach, and Redondo Beach. These locations were chosen as most at risk from sand loss due to narrow shorelines, accelerated erosion rates, and threats to existing infrastructure.
The program will establish a streamlined process for relocating high-quality sand from development projects, dredging, and flood control operations that would otherwise end up in landfills. The initiative establishes quality standards for acceptable sand based on chemical composition, grain size, and color.
The Malibu Creek Ecosystem Restoration Project, which will remove the 100-foot-tall Rindge Dam, could supply sand to local beaches from approximately 800,000 cubic yards of material that will be removed. The project will extract only sand from the total sediment, which also includes cobbles and boulders. The dam has blocked natural sediment flow for a century, disrupting beach replenishment and aquatic species migration.
Emiko Innes, a coastal resilience project manager with the county beaches and harbors department, said permits from agencies including the Coastal Commission and Army Corps of Engineers should be approved by June 2025, allowing sand collection to begin when material becomes available.
Climate change accelerates natural coastal erosion through rising sea levels and more powerful storms, according to Daniel Swain, a climate scientist at the University of California, Agriculture and Natural Resources. Urban infrastructure, including the Pacific Coast Highway and coastal buildings, prevents beaches from naturally moving inland as sea levels change.
The U.S. Geological Survey estimates California could lose between 24% and 75% of its beaches by 2100 due to rising sea levels.
A USC study published in Communications Earth & Environment predicts Southern California's coastal living costs will surge fivefold by 2050 due to beach erosion. The study forecasts that erosion rates will triple by 2050, requiring more frequent and costly beach nourishment projects. Approximately 65,000 coastal residents and $25 billion in property across California face flooding risks under current sea level conditions, according to research published in PNAS. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency notes that coastal counties produce more than $9.5 trillion in goods and services annually, supporting over 58 million jobs.
Climate change threatens California's coastal ecosystems through multiple pathways beyond simple erosion. Coastal ecosystems experience abrupt changes when small shifts in flooding, inundation, salinity, and temperature trigger transformations such as the conversion of tidal wetlands to open water and vegetation loss following storm events. Storm-related debris flows can bury critical habitats, as occurred in 2017 when a Big Sur landslide covered 1,500 meters of endangered black abalone habitat. The California Coastal Commission warns that rising sea levels will push saltwater through groundwater systems, degrading freshwater resources and affecting coastal habitats.
Beyond sand replenishment, coastal managers increasingly turn to "living shorelines" and manage retreat strategies. Living shorelines use natural materials to stabilize coasts while providing habitat benefits, employing native vegetation, dune restoration, and wetland rehabilitation to create natural buffers against storm surge. Managed retreat involves systematically relocating infrastructure away from high-risk coastal zones, as demonstrated by Ventura's Surfers' Point project, which moved bike paths and parking lots inland while creating protective sand dunes with native plants, according to Beachapedia.
Climate experts say the sand program provides short-term relief but advocate for "managed retreat" projects that relocate development away from hazardous coastal areas as a long-term solution.
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