Councilman O'Donnell Leads Surfers Into Belmont Shore Waters To "Paddle Out in Memory of the Waves" For Breakwater Awareness Month
(May 22, 2010) -- 4th district Councilman Patrick O' Donnell and supporters of reconfiguring the LB breakwater to return waves that they say would bring cleaner water and economic benefits donned wet suits, hoisted surfboards and ventured into Belmont Shore's waters on May 22 for a "Paddle Out in Memory of the Waves."
"We're here beacuse we want clean water, we want waves, and we want to improve our local economy," Councilman O'Donnell said.
LBReport.com provides video coverage (below) as well as photo coverage.
Among those taking part in the Saturday morning event at the Granada Ave. boat launch were Councilman's O'Donnell's wife Jennifer.
Also attending was Gordana Kajer (photo below), former chair of the Long Beach chapter of the Surfrider Foundation and a long time advocate of restoring waves to LB shore. "Long Beach hasn't seen this many surfboards in the water in the last hundred years and that in and of itself as a huge accomplishment," Ms. Kajer said.
Surfers paddled out on their boards, formed a circle holding hands, offered a prayer, tossed flowers into the water and after a moment of silence headed back.
On shore, supporters tossed flowers into the water (which had some relatively small, partly wind driven waves).
Watching from the shore was LB Parks & Rec's manager of Marinas and Beaches, Mark Sandoval; LB Harbor Commissioner Nick Sramek and spouse Patti (holding granddaughter belonging to 4th dist. Council office Chief of Staff, Bridget Sramek). Also visible: beach concessionaire Fred Khammar.
Two nieces of WLB Ass'n President John Taeleifi (Erika and Loren) performed a graceful Pacific Islander dance; Mr. Taeleifi told LBReport.com that he supports Councilman O'Donnell's efforts to bring waves back to the shore.
The "Paddle Out in Memory of the Waves" event is one of three May events organized by Councilman O'Donnell in what he calls "Breakwater Awareness Month." It coincides with a pending decision (anticipated shortly) by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on whether its review of a reconnaisance study (authorized by the City Council, conducted by a private engineering firm, submitted to the Corps last year) supports a finding of sufficient potential federal benefit (federal interest) to warrant a detailed Feasibility study.
The city-submitted study didn't include complete removal of the breakwater (citing too many negative impacts that couldn't be effectively or cost-effectively mitigated)...but did analyze alternatives costing from $10 million to $310 million with wave heights of zero to four times current size. It also didn't conclude if there was or wasn't a federal interest (leaving that to the Corps) but did conclude that many of the alternatives considered could both restore the ecosystem and create recreational value.
Among its findings:
Some of the Breakwater reconfigurations have a potential for significant wave energy increases to existing Port infrastructure, THUMS oil islands, Navy anchorage, and City beaches that would require mitigation.
If the goal is solely hard bottom habitat ecosystem restoration, then importing rock to create kelp beds and rocky reef habitat is most cost effective; however, that solution would not address the City’s goals of improved water quality,
renewing the City’s beaches, or increasing wave activity.
The City of Long Beach could gain increases of up to $52 million per year in local spending and economic activity, and potentially up to $6.7 million per year in taxes and parking fees and fines for the maximum recreation improvement
scenario.
By redirecting the mouth of the Los Angeles River, water quality could likely be improved along the shoreline with or without changes to the Breakwater.
All five alternatives examined could provide significant ecosystem restoration and some had recreational benefits exceeding the construction costs; however, four of the five alternatives cost more to build than the SCE Wheeler Kelp Reef on a cost-per-acre basis, due to the costs of reconfiguring the Breakwater or building the LA River training structure.
Before the Corps of Engineers makes a finding of a federal interest, the federal agency will require a letter of intent from LB City Hall agreeing to pay 50% of the estimated $7 million of a Feasibility study (meaning $3.5 million from City Hall or other non-federal sources) and eventually 35% of construction costs.
In addition, Congress would have to fund the federal government's 50% share of the Feasibility Study. Congresswoman Laura Richardson (D, Carson-LB) has supported LB City Hall requests for breakwater-study funding earmarks and has been successful in having them included in federal legislation. To date, Congressman Dana Rohrabacher (R., HB-LB-PV) [in whose district the Breakwater is] has not submitted requests for federal funding of breakwater study items.
