Sea wall stops, yet makes, waves - Long Beach council is to vote on whether to study tearing down the breakwater.
Decades ago, Long Beach was something of a surfing mecca, with wave-pounding beaches where legends like Duke Kahanamoku held the first national surf contest in 1938.
About nine miles of solid rock changed that.
The breakwater, a 50-foot-high wall of rock built by the Army Corps of Engineers in the 1940s, stopped the waves. And by creating a protective barrier, the wall allowed the Port of Long Beach and surrounding marinas to expand and thrive.
For generations, surfers and environmentalists have sought to "break the breakwater" and bring waves back to the Long Beach coast.
That's still a distant dream. But the City Council is expected to decide whether to fund a study on reconfiguring the roughly two-mile peninsula area breakwater, which lies at the east end of the city away from the huge port complex.
The study, which could cost up to $100,000, will look at the feasibility of removing a portion of the rock wall and the effect that would have on the pricey homes along the Long Beach peninsula, where residents have long seen the breakwater as protection against storms and flooding.
Environmentalists argue the breakwater bottles up urban pollution from the Los Angeles and San Gabriel rivers, creating some of the worst beach water quality in Southern California.
"Most people go to Long Beach, see what it is and go to Huntington Beach or someplace else," said Seamus Innes, 38, a coastal engineer and member of the Surfrider Foundation. Innes has been surfing for more than 25 years, but he rarely tries to do so in Long Beach. "I was able to see some waves in April, but I was at lunch from work."
Opposition is already forming from residents of Belmont Shore, Naples and the peninsula, who worry their homes would be flooded by heavy storms if left without the breakwater's protection. Even with the breakwater, some residents of the peninsula say their homes experience a heavy bashing when it rains.
"I experienced the problems when we've had heavy wave action, and I watched the alleys and streets get flooded in my district," said Frank Colonna, a former council member and resident of the city's peninsula area. Colonna was also the lone vote against approving the study two years ago.
Colonna said he was skeptical about the environmental benefits of reworking the breakwater. Though such a move might increase water circulation, it could also serve to circulate and dilute existing pollution.
