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Retired Eng'r Bud Johnson, Who Proposed Breakwater Modification To Let Twice-Daily Tidal Flows Cleanse Downtown LB-Area Beachwater, Proposes Similar Cure For Beachwater Near Port of L.A.

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  • (June 29, 2009) -- In June 2008, retired engineer/LB native Bud Johnson released a report identifying Pier J's expansion and Queensway Bay landfill near the L.A. River as constricting causes for LB's poor downtown beachwater quality...and proposed a relatively low-cost fix by slightly lowering parts of the LB Breakwater to restore tidal circulation (not waves) that would twice-daily clear-out pollutants.

    Almost exactly a year later, Mr. Johnson has released a new report...and it identifies a similar problem and offers a similar solution for beach water quality near the Port of Los Angeles.

    In his new report, a copy of which was provided to LBReport.com by Ryan Smolar, Mr. Johnson proposes creating a new opening to the San Pedro area Breakwater -- similar to an opening created at Bolsa Chica with successful results -- by removing Breakwater rocks to beach level and connecting the ocean to the bay and inner harbor beach areas.


    Design concept from June 2009 Johnson report

    "This will permit rise (incoming) and fall (outgoing) tidal flows, occurring twice per day to create new water flow and circulation patterns in Cabrillo Beach and inner harbor areas west of the [Port of L.A] Main Channel," Mr. Johnson writes in his latest report [which he labels a "concept paper"/work in progress].

    Mr. Johnson's report continues:

    It is recommended that this Cabrillo Beach project plan be joined with the Breakwater studies presently under way in Long Beach...This would result in a reduction of duplicate efforts and costs to this project as it moves forward.

    ...It is clear that both Ports have issues relating to water quality and circulation problems on their respective beachfronts. It would be appropriate and economical [emphasis in original] for a joint-project effort with regard to developing an Environmental Impact Report in the future. This is now a San Pedro Bay concern, not just a Port of Long Beach or Port of Los Angeles issue.

    To view Mr. Johnson's latest report in full, click here.

    As previously reported by LBReport.com, Cong. Laura Richardson (D., Carson-LB) recently succeeded in having $100,000 included in a list of earmarks in a House subcommittee report that -- if it passes a number of other legislative steps -- would authorize the Army Corps of Engineers to evaluate the Federal interest in reconfiguring the LB Breakwater.


    Image source: City of LB

    The funding would effectively direct the Corps of Engineers to review a study being completed by Moffatt and Nichol (under contract with the City of LB) scheduled for presentation in late July. Mr. Johnson has previously indicated that he believes material from his 2008 report on the LB Breakwater can be included in that document.


    Mr. Johnson's 2008 report on the LB Breakwater, which identified decisions decades ago by LB's Port and City Hall as reasons for LB's current downtown water quality problems, is consistent with testimony by locals at multiple public hearings who recall downtown wave action as late as the 1960s...years AFTER the federally-built Breakwater was completed.

    Johnson's report was a breakthrough in indicating that although the Breakwater itself isn't the source of the major surface pollution problem, a relatively small change to the Breakwater could provide a solution to much of that problem.

    In technical terms, it indicated 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.


    PoLB photo, circa late 1960s

    Mr. Johnson doesn't blame the Port or City Hall for these unintended consequences. "These [developments] were good things and officials felt they were necessary for the city's economic development," he told LBReport.com.

    In LB, 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. "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).

    On June 17, 2008, the LB City Council voted 6-2 (DeLong, Lerch dissenting, Vice Mayor Bonnie Lowenthal absent) to approve 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.

    Mr. Johnson acknowledges that his tidal-cleansing solution won't solve the chronic problem of trash and other items coming down the L.A. River, and he believes it won't restore waves (urged by some as a tourist draw, feared by Peninsula property owners as a storm risk)...but says his fix would restore circulation and improve LB's beach water quality at relatively low cost.

    To view Mr. Johnson's previous report on LB's downtown-area beach water quality and his proposed LB Breakwater modification, click here.


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