Highway 1

Army Corps delivers Surfer's Beach erosion reports

In March 2016, the following three reports were provided by the Army Corps of Engineers: Engineering, Environmental, and Economic Reports.

James G. Zoulas, Civil Engineer with the Army Corps will give a presentation about these reports at the Coastside Sea Rise & Erosion Forum on May 24, 2016 in Miramar. 


Coastside Sea Rise & Erosion Forum

Tuesday, May 24 at 6:00pm  (presentations will start at 6:30pm)

Douglas Beach House
311 Mirada Rd, Half Moon Bay (Miramar), CA 94019
Please take either Magellen or Medio to Mirada Road

Agenda

This event was inspired by the recent Pacifica Sea Level Rise Forum, and we hope it will be just as well received on the Coastside. 

Speakers' Biographies

Dan Hoover, PhD

Dan is an Oceanographer with the U.S. Geological Survey Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center in Santa Cruz, studying coastline evolution and managing beach and near-shore bathymetry survey programs at several sites in California, including Santa Barbara, northern Monterey Bay, and at Ocean Beach, San Francisco.  Dan holds a PhD and MS in Oceanography from University of Hawaii, and a BS and ME in Engineering from Harvey Mudd College.  Dan has worked on a wide variety of biological, geochemical, physical and geological oceanographic research projects at coastal sites in Hawaii, across the Pacific, and along the California coast.  Prior to returning to graduate school to study oceanography, he worked as an engineer on the Space Station and Space Shuttle programs.

James G. Zoulas, PhD, E.I.T.

James is a coastal engineer at the San Francisco District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, where he has been involved in developing solutions to coastal erosion and navigation problems in the San Francisco region.  James received a B.A. in Geography at UC Berkeley, and then received his training in coastal geomorphology at UCLA, where his Ph.D. dissertation addressed long-term beach changes in Orange County, CA.  James was the primary author of the Coastal Regional Sediment Management Plan for the Santa Cruz littoral cell, which includes San Mateo County from Pillar Point southward.  James served as the primary coastal engineer on the North Half Moon Bay Shoreline Improvement Project, where he collaborated with a team from the USACE Engineer Research and Development Center to model the effectiveness of several erosion mitigation measures.  James also conducted an evaluation of bluff erosion in the project area in order to better understand the influence of the east breakwater on bluff retreat.

Robert Battalio, PE

Bob is vice president, chief engineer, and leader of ESA’s Environmental Hydrology Coastal Zone Engineering & Management team.  He has dedicated his career of over 25 years to coastal and estuarine engineering, wetland and creek restoration design, and waterfront civil engineering projects throughout the U.S.  He has addressed erosion and flooding hazards on the West Coast, including shoreline mapping, sand budgets, wave and run-up studies, design of hard and soft erosion protection, and design of shoreline retreat and realignment. He was integral to pioneering projects such as the San Francisco Bay Conservation & Development Commission’s 1990 San Francisco Bay sea level rise study; effects of coastal sand mining in southern Monterey Bay; FEMA’s 2005 Pacific Coast Flood Hazard Mapping Guidelines; and coastal erosion response to sea level rise for Pacific Institute and the California Ocean Protection Council in 2009.  Bob holds a Masters of Engineering in civil/coastal engineering from UC Berkeley.  He is a member of the San Francisco Bay Conservation & Development Commission's Engineering Criteria Review Board; Northern California vice president of the California Shore and Beach Preservation Association; member of The Surfrider Foundation; and former president of the California Marine Parks and Harbors Association.


LAST REPORT ON THE WAY... 

In May 2016, John R. Dingler, Army Corps Oceanographer will release a Detailed Project Report for public review. This is the only Army Corps of Engineers report currently outstanding.


PILLAR POINT HARBOR OUTER BREAKWATER

Pillar Point Harbor is a protected harbor of refuge with two rubble-mound outer breakwaters constructed by the Army Corps of Engineers. The outer breakwater was built in 1959. The length of the east and west breakwaters is approximately 4,500 ft and 3,600 ft, respectively. In addition, three rubble-mound inner breakwaters were constructed by the Army Corps of Engineers in the 1980s.

Media

April 7, 2016 - Half Moon Bay Review -  by Carina Woudenberg

The crumbling Coastside: Winter leaves ominous signs of erosion

March 18, 2015 - Half Moon Bay Review -  by Mark Noack

Cost of incomplete erosion study surpasses $1M