California to spend $5.1M to save vanishing beaches from erosion

Los Angeles, California – Los Angeles County is preparing to spend millions to protect the beaches that have long defined its coastline — but which are now steadily slipping away.

According to the Department of Beaches and Harbors, the county has approved $5.1 million for planning and design work at three sites — Dockweiler, Zuma, and Redondo — where erosion has been carving away the shoreline at an alarming rate. The goal is to build resilience against the effects of climate change while preserving access for the millions of Californians who treat the beach as part of daily life.

The numbers make the urgency plain. Dockweiler Beach has been losing 4.5 feet a year, while Zuma’s shoreline retreats by about 3.6 feet annually. Redondo faces similar challenges, complicated by infrastructure that makes the loss more disruptive. A U.S. Geological Survey model once projected that up to 75 percent of California’s beaches could vanish by the end of the century without intervention.

For Los Angeles, that risk is not just environmental but cultural. Data from the State Coastal Conservancy shows that nearly 90 percent of Californians consider the beach important to their lives, and more than 20 million adults visit the coast at least once a year.

The county’s immediate plans include $3.1 million to widen Zuma Beach and create dune habitat, $230,000 for a sand barrier and dune restoration at Dockweiler, and $1.7 million for widening and dune creation at Redondo. But those early figures don’t capture the full financial scope. Internal reports suggest the actual construction could cost closer to $49 million for Zuma and $27 million for Redondo.

The approach — adding sand, creating dunes, installing barriers — is a familiar one. Robert Young, a geologist and director of the Program for the Study of Developed Shorelines at Western Carolina University, described it bluntly: “What the department is doing is trying to hold the beaches in place by adding sand.” The problem, he noted, is that the strategy isn’t permanent. Sand washes away, storms intensify, and new deposits are needed again and again. “It’s temporarily effective, but … we cannot hold every beach in the U.S. in place forever by doing these projects,” Young said.

The underlying causes of California’s vanishing beaches stretch back decades. Much of the sediment that once replenished the coast is trapped behind dams. With rivers no longer carrying sand to the ocean, and sea levels rising more quickly, shorelines are being squeezed inland.

The county insists that despite those long-term challenges, these projects represent a step toward resilience. The money comes from Measure A, the 2016 ballot initiative that created a parcel tax for parks, open space, rivers, and beaches. Gary Jones, director of Beaches and Harbors, called the projects an effort to “work with nature to protect what matters most: the beaches that connect us, support our ecosystems, and serve our communities.”

Norma García-González, who leads the Department of Parks and Recreation, framed the work as a generational responsibility. “By investing in science-based, community-driven solutions, we’re making sure our coastline remains a place of connection, recreation, and refuge for all,” she said.

What Los Angeles is attempting is hardly unique. From Maine to Texas, coastal communities are trying to buy time by moving sand, building dunes, and raising barriers. As Young put it, “It really is a crisis we haven’t come to terms with.” For now, Los Angeles is trying to buy a few more years of beach, knowing the waves will keep coming.