(June 24, 2008) -- A retired engineer and LB native has produced a detailed draft report indicating that the Port of LB's expansion of Pier J, plus LB's downtown waterfront landfill and developments, blocking previous circulation and constricting L.A. River outflow, are to blame for LB's poor downtown shoreline water quality.
The document's technical conclusions -- which effectively implicate actions by the City's Port and City Hall as sources of these chronic problems -- are consistent with testimony by locals at public hearings recalling downtown wave action as late as the 1960s...years AFTER the federally built Breakwater was completed.
Although the report indicates the Breakwater isn't the source of the problem, it indicates that a relatively small change to the Breakwater could provide a solution to much of the problem.
Retired engineer and LB native Bud Johnson authored the report entitled "Environmental Impact Concerns, Long Beach Harbor, Draft Report (Work in Progress," dated February 2008. In technical terms, it indicates that the Port of LB's expansion of Pier J and City Hall's downtown Queensway Bay/Marina landfill area developments blocked prior ocean circulation and constricted the area through which the L.A. River's outflow now flows.
Mr. Johnson doesn't blame the Port or City Hall for these developments. "These were good things and officials felt they were necessary for the city's economic development," he told LBReport.com.
Mr. Johnson proposes to create a new Queens Gate opening about a quarter mile east of the existing Queens Gate, configured at what he calls zero tide level, so that surface water would be able to move across the reconfigured area twice a day.
The result would basically flush LB's downtown waters twice a day. Mr. Johnson didn't sound fond of our phrase but acknowledges its accuracy. "It's not 24/7, but the increased circulation twice a day for 365 days a year would bring a big net improvement," Mr. Johnson says.
"Dirty water floats on clean water and I'm talking about cleaning the surface water," he said...and acknowledges this wouldn't deal with boxes, seaweed and other litter that ends up on beaches.
Mr. Johnson says the concerns of Peninsula homeowners deserve attention and says his fix addresses them...and would bring Peninsula residents benefits. "The new circulation flow would promote the movement of sand eastward, using nature to rebuild the beach. When we noted that the city currently spends six figure Tidelands sums annually to physically transport sand from part of LB out to the Peninsula, Mr. Johnson said the increased circulation would slowly rebuild the Peninsula beaches ("not overnight, but over time," he said).
A June 17 City Council vote (6-2, DeLong, Lerch dissenting, Vice Mayor Bonnie Lowenthal absent) approved spending up to $100,000 for a study to indicate [persuade the Corps of Engineers] on whether there's a federal interest in a reconfiguring the Breakwater which could improve water quality while continuing to protect the coast.
"The goal of the study is to create a document that meets the standards and requirements of the Army Corps, and that can be reviewed by the Army Corps (at a minimum federal cost) for a determination of federal interest . Once the
study is complete, the City will present the document to the Army Corps, who will then conduct their review . If the Army Corps determines that there is federal interest in reconfiguring the Breakwater, the next step would be to conduct a feasibility study," said a June 17 city staff report.
Mr. Johnson told LBReport.com that he believes that the real answer isn't more studies; it's a matter of political will after facing the facts.
Mr. Johnson says there have been multiple previous studies, performed by consultants who conclude more study is needed" ("more work for them," he says). He bristles when discussions of beach water quality turn to solving what he calls "macro"issues...such as solving ALL of LB's beach water problems. "That's their trick, saying the solution requires huge amounts of money. What I'm proposing doesn't." Mr. Johnson said.
While Mr. Johnson report is mainly technical, its inescapable conclusions are incendiary, even mortifying: that the expansion of LB's Port [backed by the Port, Chamber of Commerce and much of LB's establishment] and downtown developments [backed by the Chamber of Commerce, City Hall and much of LB's establishment] had fouled a major LB asset and public resource: LB's downtown shoreline waters (in addition to erasing the city's downtown beach).
Mr. Johnson's report isn't critical of the past decisions but does cite them as reasons for the problem, essentially inviting LB residents to face facts. "There is no question that the landfill projects of the Downtown beaches and Pier J have been strong allies to the economic well-being of the City and Port [but] there is a price to pay," Mr. Johnson writes in his report.
However website co-published by an advisor to the LB Area Chamber of Commerce and another individual said to be mulling a downtown Council run omits mention of Mr. Johnson's points regarding Pier J and downtown landfill developments, instead assuring readers that unnamed "people" (the "right people," it says in an unjournalistic reference) had "listened" and "would be able to put that information to use"...and doesn't provide readers with access to the report.
LBReport.com provides access to the draft report in full with Mr. Johnson's permission below. The draft report's discussion of Pier J includes pp. 27-28 after an earlier reference on p. 21.
A section titled "Pier J Encroachment" (pp. 27-28) uses maps to illustrate the chronology (below) of Port expansion and its results, stating in part [excerpted text]:
- [1940] Very little water circulation problems
- [1950] River exit flow in the bay modified to east/southeast...Queens Gate now the only north/south surface tidal flow pattern for the Harbor area. Reduction of water circulation from the west and south
- [1970] Continued major expansion of Pier J. Further reduces the water circulation pattern from the west...Further compromise of the Harbor water circulation pattern to the south/southeast. River exit water flow pattern compromised by reduction of Queensway Bay channel width, due to downtown waterfront landfill.
- [1990] Continued Expansion of Pier J further reduces the water circulation pattern from the west...North/south tidal water flow through Queens Gate is compromised about 30%. Further compromise of Harbor water circulation to the south/southeast. River exit water flow compromised by reduction of Queensway Bay channel width due to Shoreline Marina.
From the draft report's conclusions:
There is no question that the landfill projects of the Downtown beaches and Pier J have been strong allies to the economic well-being of the City and Port. However, there is a price to pay. The question to be asked is -- was the cost worth the benefit? Not just from financial aspects but cost of side effects such as environmental impacts. It is the conclusion of the author, that the combination of the City and Port economic decisions made during the past century has produced one of the premier beachfront cities in the world. However, we are presently paying an environmental price with regard to water circulation patterns in the Harbor. [Source: Johnson draft report, p. 29]
In February 2008, Mr. Johnson sent his draft study to downtown beach area Councilwoman Suja Lowenthal. He says Councilwoman Lowenthal called him personally, spoke with him about the report (he gathers that she did take the time to read it) and encouraged him to send it to other City Councilmembers and the Port.
Mr. Johnson did so...and says he received polite letters in reply from the offices of Vice Mayor Bonnie Lowenthal, Councilwoman Gerrie Schipske and the office of Mayor Bob Foster.
Mr. Johnson said he received no response whatsoever from the Port of Long Beach.
As previously reported by LBReport.com, Port staff did prepare a memorandum and a Power Point presentation questioning a separate proposal by downtown LB businessman John Morris (Smooth's Sports Grille) that sought to divert
the L.A. river westward into the Port (with cleaning paid for by Port users who benefit from expanding Pier J).
Mr. Morris was subsequently permitted an agendized opportunity to present his positionPort staff called that approach as too costly...and urged focusing on upwater cities meeting storm water discharge (clean water) requirements [subsequently stalled by a court challenge by those cities].
In its arguments, PoLB staff didn't acknowledge the effects of Pier J's final expansion in causing the problem that Mr. Johnson implicates in his report.
Last year, then-newly named Harbor Commission President Mario Cordero moved to have the Port fund $50,000 of the City's $100,000 for its Breakwater study...but was slapped back by a Harbor Commission majority (2-3 vote).
[City management subsequently lined-up a $50,000 conservancy grant, but it's conditioned on a federal appropriation that Congress hasn't approved at present and may or may not in the future.]
Has Mr. Johnson been invited to present a report publicly in a City Council study session or in a Council Committee? "No," he said.
Has Councilwoman Suja Lowenthal, chair of the Council's Tidelands and Harbor Committee [other members are Vice Mayor Bonnie Lowenthal and Councilman Gary DeLong] invited Mr. Johnson to present his report at one of her Committee's meetings? "No," he replied.
Would Mr. Johnson testify at a Council study session or a Committee meeting? "Oh yes," he said, while adding that he's now working to finalize his draft study and produce an Executive Summary boiling things down into more simple terms.
Our line of questioning left Mr. Johnson uneasy. "I don't want this to come out as critical of Councilwoman Lowenthal. I have confidence in her," he said. "She's the reason I put the report together," he added...and noted that she'd encouraged him to disseminate it to other city offices.
In the public interest, LBReport.com is making the draft study available in full with Mr. Johnson's permission. Parts are technical, but its main points come through with a little effort...and he labels it a "work in progress." To view it, click here.
At the June 17 City Council meeting, 2nd dist. Councilwoman Lowenthal presented one of her "Stewards of the Second District" awards to the Port of Long Beach. In presenting the award, she said, "Committed to putting green into every facet of their operations, the Long Beach Port has come a long way in only a few years. I appreciate their efforts and believe we can achieve more for the community when we work together and not at odds with each other."
