A U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) effort to remove about a hundred Olympic-sized swimming pools worth of sediment from Marina del Rey’s harbor (MdR) is slated to begin on Friday, December 29th with the arrival of the Sea Horse dredge vessel, the Los Angeles County Department of Beaches and Harbors announced today.
The five-month maintenance dredging effort will remove 400,000 to 500,000 cubic yards of sediment accumulated at the Marina’s entrance and along the harbor’s north jetty, where shoaling has greatly reduced navigation for boaters and first responders. The dredging operation by the Sea Horse with its clamshell bucket will begin along the north jetty following equipment inspections.
As the Sea Horse dredges, the sediment will be loaded onto a dump scow, the Robert L, and deposited in the Pacific Ocean nearshore of Dockweiler State Beach, just north of Imperial Highway in Playa del Rey. The Robert L is expected to make approximately four to five trips per day.
The equipment and 24-hour dredging work may make certain portions of the harbor entrance impassible for periods of time. For this reason, boaters with accessibility questions or concerns are encouraged to contact Harbormaster Sgt. Ron Nohles at 310-482-6000 (Office); 323-893-6803 (Cell)
Dredging is the routine removal of accumulated underwater sediment from channel beds to maintain the appropriate depths of navigation channels, harbors, marinas, boat launches and port facilities. It’s usually conducted by heavy machinery that scoops sediment from an area onto a barge, which transports the sediment elsewhere.
The dredging project budgeted at $7.18 million will be funded through Federal Budget appropriations. The project will ensure safe navigation of the harbor entrance for the U.S. Coast Guard and other first responders, as well as for the roughly 4,300 recreational vessels docked in the Marina.
About 400,000 to 500,000 cubic yards of sediment will be dredged from the harbor entrance. Once removed, the dredged sand will be transported by a scow—a large flat-bottomed vessel—and dropped through an opening at the bottom of the vessel into water about 15 to 30 feet deep nearshore Dockweiler State Beach. The sand deposits will be made twice a day and take about a half hour to complete and are expected to provide renourishment for the beach.
The dredging project will be a 24/7 operation. The Department of Beaches and Harbors will work with the dredging contractor to mitigate noise. It is not anticipated that the dredging will take place close enough to residences such that it would result in nighttime noise disturbance. Dredging at Marina del Rey is expected to begin on January 1, 2024 and should be complete by May 2024.
Upon completion of the project, it is anticipated that the depth of the harbor entrance will be 20 feet Mean Lower Low Water (MLLW), or a depth of 20 feet during low tide.
All dredging is monitored to assure that there is minimal impact to the foraging and nesting periods of the California Least Tern, as well as all other sensitive or endangered species.
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