The Long Beach City Manager’s Office yesterday announced that a reconnaissance study of the Long Beach Breakwater performed by engineering firm Moffatt & Nichol will soon be available to the public, and that the study will be presented to the City Council for review on July 27. The study was commissioned by the City Council last summer for a $100,000 price tag, and Moffatt & Nichol has spent the last ten months conducting public forums and conducting their study – the culmination of which will be available soon and posted on the lbpost.com as soon as we receive it.
What will it say? Prepare yourself for the full spectrum. Moffatt & Nichol could very well advocate for the alteration of the breakwater to improve water circulation and possibly even bring back waves, or it could also suggest that alteration would prove too costly, dangerous or downright improbable (check out our June 29 article to see the hoops and hurdles Long Beach needs to jump through to get approval).
But if the study shows real environmental and economic advantages to changing the breakwater – without danger to property or environment – then the Army Corps of Engineers will be much more willing to examine the possibility of altering the structure. The Corps – who owns the breakwater – has received a lot of pressure lately and funding that would sponsor their study is currently moving through Congress. For anyone who has waited for the possibility of seeing the breakwater torn down (or at least portions of it), this is it folks. Buckle up.
In the meantime, check out this article from the District Weekly‘s Jenny Stockdale on the myriad breakwater reports currently floating around, what makes them different, and how they play into the goal of improving Long Beach’s shores.