Thanks to funding obtained by the U.S. Corps of Engineers, dredging of the Los Angeles River began today just north of the Queensbay Bridge in an effort to increase water quality, the City of Long Beach announced today. The dredging will operate 24/7 until October 27.
The effort will hopefully eliminate shoaling – sandy build-ups on the river floor that threaten to close channels leading to the open ocean. The solution to eliminating the excess sand is… apparently… adding more sand.
Sand will be taken from the nearby Junipero Ave. beach, and deposited into 20 feet of water near the mouth of the river. Currents are expected to carry the sand to nearby beaches to eliminate beach erosion and therefore, shoaling.
From the release:
Keeping the channel open is a Federal responsibility of the Corps of Engineers; however, Congress must appropriate the funding to maintain the channel. The City of Long Beach pushed hard for the new funding, which will enable the Corps to complete portions of the dredging project that were not completed earlier this year.
No word yet on whether this announcement has anything to do with the city’s beaches yet again ranked among the worst in the state.
By Ryan ZumMallen, Managing Editor